Payment timeframe

[Macman]

just wondering how everyone else's pay time frame is for games, in our association it can take FOREVER to get paid for games and sometimes its not that much money. 

 

we usually get 25 to 50 a game and we do not get paid at the field, we get a check after a few months (at least its supposed to be that way) but i just got my last check from last season....

 

anyone else have this problem?

[T-Rav]

For HighSchool, it takes a few days for some private schools but for the public schools it takes at-least a month to get paid. They used to pay cash at the plate until an audit came out and a large amount of funds were found to be stolen.

 

For LL or Rec I get paid in cash weekly by the assigner(s) and for certain travel ball they pay me at the plate. 

 

 

You might want to vocalize your complaints to at your next meeting, I'm sure you are not the only umpire who is not very thrilled about the delay. 

[cyclonehokiece]

In all of my cases, there is a policy and it is upheld (cash on field, check mailed within certain timeframe, etc.).  If there is a problem, email/phone call and check is issued.

[NCAAump2]

Same here.  If we don't get paid at the plate, we are supposed to give the schools two weeks to process the voucher and send us a check.  After that, we are to call the school to inquire about the delay.

[mjr_2013]

Little League mails my check every Wednesday.

 

Association will take about two weeks (in line with school payroll), but you have to keep good records of games worked and be careful that you DO get paid, because some schools "forget" about paying referees, and unless you speak up to the association and school, you'll never receive it. From what I hear, this has gotten better in recent years, but you still need to keep good records.

 

In football, it once took me 5 weeks, 10+ emails, and more than one phone call to get a $35 game fee, but that was the worst of my experiences, and wasn't the schools or associations fault.

[semper_fi_72]

just wondering how everyone else's pay time frame is for games, in our association it can take FOREVER to get paid for games and sometimes its not that much money. 

 

we usually get 25 to 50 a game and we do not get paid at the field, we get a check after a few months (at least its supposed to be that way) but i just got my last check from last season....

 

anyone else have this problem?

I wouldn't wait for a check for a few months.

Would never work for a association that takes that long to pay.

I would question why it takes so long.

There can not be a valid reason except the person paying is sitting on the money.

If they say they are waiting for money from the league, that is another problem.

When I assign, league gives me the money up front so I know I can pay my umpires.

If I don't have the money, then they won't have a umpire show up at their game.

Longest I wait is mid week after a weekend tournament.

They are paid thru RefPay and usually have the money in my bank by the following Thursday.

[Fittske24]

High school - One check at the end of the year.
College (Non Conference) - One check at the end of the year.

College (Conference) - Check waiting for you when arrive on site.
College (Summer) - Check every 2-weeks.

 

I don't do reck ball or  travel ball anymore, but when I did...A check every 2-weeks

[Jocko]

Dangerous topic. There are pimps and everywhere. No comment. This is plutonium.

[Macman]

we were told last year that they are waiting for the different leagues to give them the money and that they can't disperse it till they get it altogether and situated. i would rather get paid at the field just like everyone else would but its more of a headache to wait this long then it is the 2 weeks or even a month

[MT_Blue]

For highschool here it is waiting for you on arrival, for Travel ball/Slow pitch its every two weeks

[SnareDrum]

For our "City League", we get paid every two weeks, and they let us know in advance what the dates will be. If there's an error, it's fixed in the following check.  

 

For HS games, we provide a voucher to the host school who is then responsible for payment. Timetable varies based on the school and when they cut checks, but you'll usually have a check in hand in 3-4 weeks. If not, we let our association know and they handle it.

 

Both the City and my Association are pretty clear as to the time frame when we can expect payment, and what to do if we don't receive it or get shorted. Have you spoken with anyone with your Assoc. about this? You've already posted here, but IMHO, this may have been something to keep in the locker room.

[umpcoachfather]

I am not making this up - I just got paid for a Varsity game I did 2 years ago.  The school is a disaster.  I called once a week - starting about 2 weeks after the game.  Then monthly.  I kept copies of everything.   Finally - I sent a package of everything I sent to the school to the district superintendant telling him that I was going to go to small claims court and ask for my money plus interest.  I also told my assignor not to put me at any of their games this year. 

I tossed 3 kids and the coach in the 4th inning, ending the game.  Im figuring the coach thought that he was being smart by losing my contract. 

 

Before you ask:

time is called - both 2nd and short come to the mound for a meeting.  I see the shortstop take out a can of what appears to be dip from his back pocket and share with the other 2.  I dip Copenhagen, never on the field, not till Im on my way home.  I ask to see the can.  I get "see it's just jerky"  I say open it, I knew I had him when I asked, his face gave it away.  He opened it and bam I tossed them all.   Pitcher already had a warning for cursing (F-word).  They would have been mercied anyway.  I just put them out of their misery. 

In my report the coach told me " I (me) had no idea about kids and that I was a F'n Jerk-off"  he even admited its was tobacoo and that they have been fooling him for the past 2 years with it.  He didnt coach last year, I'm wondering if this is why. 

[BRUMP]

I am not making this up - I just got paid for a Varsity game I did 2 years ago. The school is a disaster. I called once a week - starting about 2 weeks after the game. Then monthly. I kept copies of everything. Finally - I sent a package of everything I sent to the school to the district superintendant telling him that I was going to go to small claims court and ask for my money plus interest. I also told my assignor not to put me at any of their games this year.

I tossed 3 kids and the coach in the 4th inning, ending the game. Im figuring the coach thought that he was being smart by losing my contract.

Before you ask:

time is called - both 2nd and short come to the mound for a meeting. I see the shortstop take out a can of what appears to be dip from his back pocket and share with the other 2. I dip Copenhagen, never on the field, not till Im on my way home. I ask to see the can. I get "see it's just jerky" I say open it, I knew I had him when I asked, his face gave it away. He opened it and bam I tossed them all. Pitcher already had a warning for cursing (F-word). They would have been mercied anyway. I just put them out of their misery.

In my report the coach told me " I (me) had no idea about kids and that I was a F'n Jerk-off" he even admited its was tobacoo and that they have been fooling him for the past 2 years with it. He didnt coach last year, I'm wondering if this is why.

I think I heard about this. Can you PM me the school name?

[Umpire in Chief]

For HS we are paid through the association and are paid via RefPay every second Wednesday.

College paid through RefPay the 15th of the month following.

Recreation both adult & kid it is primarily pay at the plate. Otherwise we are due in 2 wks. beyond that there is a late fee.

[LMSANS]

HS - voucher completed before plate meeting, check is mailed any where from 3 days to 3 months, depending on the school district.

LL - Check(s) to the UIC 2x/month who then gives us our checks or cashes the one big check and gives us cash.

Travel - a check is mailed within a day or 2 of the game

Most other levels is cash or check at the plate meeting.

[semper_fi_72]

we were told last year that they are waiting for the different leagues to give them the money and that they can't disperse it till they get it altogether and situated. i would rather get paid at the field just like everyone else would but its more of a headache to wait this long then it is the 2 weeks or even a month

No one should be assigning umpires to games they don't have money to pay in hand.

That is very dangerous and as far as I am concern unethical.

You don't ask guys to work games you can not pay them for ASAP.

This is a business and people need to get paid.

I understand time lag for some thru RefPay etc., but those Organizations have the money and you know you will get paid.

To work for a League that the Assignor is waiting for them to get money from, NO!

[IABlue]

we were told last year that they are waiting for the different leagues to give them the money and that they can't disperse it till they get it altogether and situated. i would rather get paid at the field just like everyone else would but its more of a headache to wait this long then it is the 2 weeks or even a month

No one should be assigning umpires to games they don't have money to pay in hand.

That is very dangerous and as far as I am concern unethical.

You don't ask guys to work games you can not pay them for ASAP.

This is a business and people need to get paid.

I understand time lag for some thru RefPay etc., but those Organizations have the money and you know you will get paid.

To work for a League that the Assignor is waiting for them to get money from, NO!

I don't really understand the thinking here.  If you are talking about leagues or tournaments where the umpire pay is based on entry fees, then obviously the money should be there up front.  But you don't honestly expect a high school or college to send money to anyone in advance of the game, do you?  That would be completely unprecedented to anything that I've ever heard of.

 

Around here, for high school just about every school has some kind of voucher system.  Can take two weeks to a month to get paid as some have to wait for a school board meeting to clear the checks, which in many cases occur once a month.  There are still a very small number of schools that have a check on site. Those are obviously fun places to work.

 

Some small colleges pay on site, but most of them also have some kind of vocher system.  Check usually take 7-10 days at that level.  Never had to wait very long for one of those.

 

Local tournaments pay you at the conclusion of the weekend.  I've never been a big fan of handing a wad of cash to the umpire at the plate as that not only looks really tacky, but you have to keep track of rather substantial stack of cash in some cases if it's a big tourney over a long weekend.  Just personal preference here.

 

In any event, there is very little excuse for any entity to take more than a week or so to pay an official, other than the fact that they just don't give give a crap about  us.  The long lag in getting paid was one reason why I quite doing basketball a few years ago.  It wasn't a substantial issue, but it did play a part.  You're driving all over the place and paying for gas seemingly every night,stopping for a bite to eat after the games, etc, and it just feels like you're barely breaking even when all the checks finally roll in.

[IABlue]

BTW, I am unfamiliar with RefPay and have never used it.  I have heard there is a rather substantial fee to sign up for the service.  Is that true?

[cyclonehokiece]

BTW, I am unfamiliar with RefPay and have never used it.  I have heard there is a rather substantial fee to sign up for the service.  Is that true?

Our assignor mentioned that it costs him $1/paysheet issued in Refpay so it adds up quickly for him (he said something like $1500 last year, but that was still worth it to him rather than issuing checks to everyone).  Refpay is free for the official as long as they use direct deposit, but not for those making the payments.

[IABlue]

BTW, I am unfamiliar with RefPay and have never used it.  I have heard there is a rather substantial fee to sign up for the service.  Is that true?

Our assignor mentioned that it costs him $1/paysheet issued in Refpay so it adds up quickly for him (he said something like $1500 last year, but that was still worth it to him rather than issuing checks to everyone).  Refpay is free for the official as long as they use direct deposit, but not for those making the payments.

Interesting.  I had heard different.  Thanks.

[Umpire in Chief]

BTW, I am unfamiliar with RefPay and have never used it.  I have heard there is a rather substantial fee to sign up for the service.  Is that true?

There is no cost to you unless you request paper checks. But if you use direct deposit no charges. I love it.

[Jocko]

I set a min/max $ figure as my deposit point and it cost like $1.50 @ deposit so I took it off. I manually xfer funds. Free.

[Umpire in Chief]

That's correct Jocko, I almost forgot. If you have it set up automatically there is a charge, but if you just go in yourself and request the direct deposit its free.

[Welpe]

This is a business and people need to get paid.

Most every business has to manage their cash flow, which is why there are delays in payments made from when services are rendered. As long as there is no appreciable delay, I don't see an issue with this.

 

The Pony/Colt league I work for pays either cash on site or we get a check mailed. It's a small organization and the guy running it always has us paid within two weeks.

 

High school ball is interesting. For public schools, we are paid by the school district. We fill out a voucher at the game site and receive a check in the mail. The UIL constitution requires payment within 45 days but that doesn't always happen. Some districts process payments very quickly, others well let's just say it took me over a year to get paid for some basketball games by the largest school district in Texas.

 

Private schools pay either on site (pretty rare) or mail a check. Almost every private school I've worked for has mailed a check within a few days.

[cyclonehokiece]

The problem with many public bodies is that they may need the approval of a board (school board, county board of supervisors, etc.) before issuing checks and therefore there is a delay, as sometimes these meetings are only once a month.  Other times, they only cut checks once or twice a month (like the 15th and end of the month for example).  After you work in a location for awhile, you learn the patterns and can target who is good and who is slow.