Form To Fill Out For Usher: Fill & Download for Free

Freshman orientation at my daughter’s high school. It’s a Chicago public high school. They had two orientations at the same time: one for the students, and one for the parents.The parents were ushered into the auditorium. Once settled in, we had two hours of Powerpoints and speakers. And almost all of them revolved around the same message: How to get “free” stuff from the government.The first speaker went on for 15 minutes about how important it was to fill out the student’s parental income form, so the school can get extra taxpayer funds for having poor students. It wasn’t for free or reduced lunch. All students got “free” lunch anyway, if they needed it or not.There were presentations about what to do if you’re homeless or living on someone’s couch or in a car; how to play sports if you can’t afford the equipment; how to get government-funded translation services if you need them, etc…They made sure that everyone knew that their immigration status could not be called into question by filling out any forms for the school, and that the school would not report any illegal immigrants to the federal government.Poor? Yes. We will report that ASAP. Not here legally? Nope. We won’t ask you about that and won’t say anything about it if we find out.There was also a long presentation about the school’s discipline policy. The message I got from that was: We expect every student to have a run in with the law at least once a year.There was just one short presentation on academics.

I was hired as a house manager/usher at a small professional theater when I was in my early 20s. I filled out the typical new hire paperwork, including a W-4 for my deductions, but was surprised when they never deducted any taxes from my paychecks. When I asked, they said they considered me an “independent contractor,” though this was never mentioned when I interviewed. Still, I didn’t really mind since at the time I really needed the money, and the extra little bit helped.I DID mind that they were very sporadic in paying me, though. Payroll was supposed to be on a regular 2-week schedule, but I rarely got my checks on time. I had to ask, and pester, and beg, and eventually would get my check. Sometimes it took a week or two, and then the next check would be late as well. I don’t know if they had cash flow issues or what, but it was a major hassle, and I am not a confrontational person. They also tended to criticize and demean me in other ways, and it was just not a pleasant working situation. Eventually I quit and found a different part time job, and thought I was done with them.Until tax time came the following year, and I realized I owed money for the taxes that hadn’t been collected. OH FUCKING NO, that wasn’t happening. Not after the way that place had treated me. I researched Employee vs Independent Contractor and made sure I had all my facts straight- CLEARLY, by every criteria, I was in fact an employee. And I knew they could get in big trouble for mis-classifying me (and most likely other employees too).So, I filled out my tax return as if I was an employee, with no extra taxes calculated. I sent it in with a full explanation, along with paperwork that related to my mis-classification as an independent contractor (this was a long time ago, I don’t recall the specifics, but there were forms you could fill out to report an employer if you felt you were mis-classified).I never heard back from the IRS, and got my expected tax refund exactly the way I had calculated. I don’t know what happened to the theater, but since I got my refund I assume they were investigated and my claims were validated. I hope so, since they should have known that if they are going to do something illegal, they should treat their employees better!

I’ve been forgotten more than once in an exam room!After I gave birth, I was wheeled into a recovery room while my husband and newborn baby were taken to do whatever happens — fill out forms or whatever. I waited and waited . . . and waited. Nobody came into the recovery room for over an hour.Finally, I saw my anesthesiologist walking past and I called out to him. He came in and said, “Oh my God, what are you still doing in here?” I told him I’d been in there well over an hour and I was, um, bleeding a lot (new moms will understand what I mean) and I REALLY needed some assistance. He ran out and grabbed a nurse who barked at me that I shouldn’t have been left alone — as though it was MY fault!In the meantime, my husband had gone up to my room and when he saw I wasn’t there, he asked the nurses what happened and they said they had no record of my being in that hospital. (I’d been in the hospital for about 6 hours by that point.) He yelled a lot and they finally “found” me. Unbelievable.Another time, I went to a new eye doctor. I was ushered into an exam room and told to wait.And wait and wait. After an hour (during which time I heard the doctor going from one exam room to another), I went out into the hallway and yelled “Is anyone ever going to see me?” The nurse ran over, a bit taken aback, and asked me to please be patient, the doctor would be right in.So I sat back down . . . and fell asleep. When the doctor finally walked in, I checked my watch and I had been asleep for over an hour! I informed him of this, and he got mad (he knew it was true). I only waited because I had a babysitter for my 2 kids that day and I really, really needed to see an eye doctor and I didn’t want to walk out without the exam.That was about 25 years ago. I’ve grown less patient and less invisible since then.