Obligations to my previous employer.

by Charles Wilkinson
(Denton, Tx, Denton County)

Thank you for reading this. I live in the state of Texas where I worked for a gym as an in house personal trainer. I was labeled an independent contractor but I was required to be there and I couldnt set my own hours. Because of that I got drained and decided to find another job. I wanted to still train my clients but the gym didn't like that so they told me that I am not allowed to train there anymore. So in a sense I was fired. A week later, they are accusing me of stealing money from the company. The clients payed the gym and I received a percentage that is then divided by the amount of sessions and I only get payed once a session is complete. Well towards the end, I was always so tired from being there from 4am-8pm everyday that sometimes I would forget to have my clients sign the book after their session so I would just sign it. Nobody has ever mentioned this was a problem for over three years and now they want to threaten legal action AFTER I WAS LET GO? My question is, what are my obligations to them? There were never any papers signed, there wasn't a no-compete agreement or any agreement for that matter in the hiring or firing process. The only paperwork I signed was the tax form that allows them to issue me a 1099.

I am really scared and I told them it was a mistake and that I would happily pay them back. Ive never stolen anything in my life and I don't know how to stand up for myself because I don't understand what I'm legally obligated to do. The total amount disputed is less than $1,000. Please tell me there is some way that I can keep from getting bullied around. I keep contacting them back and its like they want to fix this less and less.