Complaint Review: PJ apartments - ithaca New York

Hello Kevin,

This is Pam Johnston.  You were most certainly not fired because you brought to my attention the fact that your pay was short by one day.  You worked for PJ Apartments for a little less than six weeks.  During that time, you were fully and completely paid for all of the hours that you worked. The company that processes our payroll was not aware that you were a permanent employee and therefore eligible for paid holidays. You worked on July 4^th 2014 and you should have been paid double-time. The payroll company paid single-time. When you brought this error to my attention, I apologized and immediately gave you an advance in cash in excess of that days’ pay in order for you to cover your commitments.  We agreed that you would repay that money once the payroll company issued you with a check correcting the error. Therefore Kevin, this error was dealt with promptly and appropriately.

When Jody, my maintenance supervisor, who has worked for me for more than five years, hired you, he reported back to me that you were very pleased that I offered you a starting pay of $1.00/hr more than you asked for. The reason I did that is because I believe in paying my employees for their experience, skill level, and effort in a fair and equitable way.  At the beginning of your employment, you reported to us that you were suffering from seven stomach ulcers and for the first two to three weeks of your employment you were absent from work many, many times due to your illness. After expressing your concern of losing your job many times as a result of your ailment, both Jody and I reassured you, many times that you would not lose your job due to ill health and that we wanted you to take the time that you needed to get well and come back to work, which is what you did.

As you may recall, all maintenance staff and summer workers pick up trash that has been left behind by tenants around each building as their first task every morning. My staff put in a great deal of time in maintaining the exterior of our properties in a neat and tidy condition throughout the entire day.

I have been in business for a little over fifteen years.  During that time I have completed renovations to a very high standard in almost all of the properties that I own.  All renovations, and in fact all of my buildings, are code compliant and fully inspected by the City of Ithaca. Additionally, my maintenance staff provide a 24-hour on call maintenance service for all of my tenants should the need arise.

Providing high quality and safe apartments for our tenants is of paramount importance. Therefore, it is enormously important that my staff is courteous, knowledgeable, and efficient in providing services to our tenants. We are a small business and it is essential that all members of our staff respect each other and work well as a team to achieve our shared goal of providing and maintaining quality housing.  You were let go because my staff and I did not feel that having you work for PJ Apartments was a good fit.   

I have returned to managing the daily operations of my business. With the support of my staff, I am available to address any issues regarding PJ Apartments. 

Some of my staff wanted to make a statement:

Hello,

I have worked for Pam Johnston for a little over five years. In that time, I have had some family and personal problems arise. I was always treated with respect for my personal problems as well as any other issues that came about. I am happy with my job.  I think PJ Apartments is a good company to work for and pays very well.

                                             - Jody Leonard

For me, working at PJ apartments was a great experience. Part of the reason for this was the people I worked with. They were very amiable and we got along swimmingly. Because of this, I was able to enjoy myself, even while performing lots of hard work. In addition, the pay was great and I was able to make plenty of money to help pay for college and still have some left over for having fun. In fact, because I liked working at PJ apartments, I plan on working for them over my winter break and depending on whether or not I can get an internship, I will probably work for them next summer as well.

                                              -Orion Hayes

To whom it may concern,

I have worked for P.J. Apartments for about one year. I’ve been treated fairly during my employment here. Pam Johnston is not a rip-off type of person, contrary to what has been posted about her. I work in her maintenance department and I can tell you she does maintain her properties. I’ve also received raises during my employment here and Pam has always paid me any money that was owed to me. I enjoy working for P.J. Apartments and with my co-workers as well.

                                                 Sincerely,

                                                 Lee Tillinghast