HOLLAND, Mich. — A former employee of a local construction company under investigation by the FOX 17 Problem Solvers says the business owes him thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and commissions.
Carter Stockdale wants to look forward to his future but the Holland native, who now lives in Florida where he attends a marine technology school, says it’s difficult to do that because of his past.
“I came down here to go back to school, something I never expected to do,” said Stockdale. “Ultimately, [I] would like to open up my own marina.”
Stockdale explains in June 2021, a Hastings construction company, Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC, hired him.
“I basically started on foot, door-to-door sales,” said Stockdale. “We would go to storm-affected areas, where a hail storm had hit or big wind had hit, flooding, whatever.”
He added, “I had people underneath me who were door knockers. They would basically get my foot in the door, and then from there, I'd go in and I'd say, ‘We’ll offer free inspection; we’ll take a look at your roof, see if you've been affected by hail; we'll see if you're having any soft spots or anything's wrong with your roof,’ and then from there, it turned into an insurance game.”
Stockdale took the job because of the potential earnings but in the month he worked there, he never got paid.
“I was worried about food constantly,” said Stockdale. “I was having to put my own money into gas for the truck to be able to get around to do the sales and I was dipping; I basically spent every single bit of savings that I had just to do this job.”
It caused Stockdale a lot of stress and that’s why, after the company fired him, he filed a wage-and-benefit complaint with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
“He's out there seven days a week, 12 hours a day, walking through neighborhoods, driving a crew of guys around, making estimates on roofs, talking with homeowners,” said Rob Howard, Stockdale’s attorney. “He was working his butt off for this company.”
According to Howard, an administrative law judge issued an opinion last May that ordered Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC to pay Stockdale $35,666 plus interest.
Letters obtained by FOX 17 show the state demanded the company do so by Nov. 17, 2023, but Howard says that has yet to happen.
“Their [Bay to Bay] big defense was that Carter was an independent contractor but he fails every test of the independent contractor tests,” said Howard. “He was an employee and that's what the court ultimately found, and that as an employee, he's entitled to be paid for the work he did for the company.”
Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC did not respond to emails the Problem Solvers sent this week seeing comment, and numbers associated with the company appeared to be disconnected when FOX 17 tried to call.
When the Problem Solvers began to report on alleged issues with Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC last summer, the company’s corporate officer at the time, Jerold Saeman, said they aimed to exceed customer expectation and would continue to strive for excellence and improve where needed.
READ MORE: PROBLEM SOLVERS: State suspends Hastings construction company's license amid consumer complaints
In July 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) suspended Bay to Bay and Saeman’s licenses. According to the complaints filed, they violated the state’s occupational code and their work created an “imminent threat.”
READ MORE: PROBLEM SOLVERS: State board approves settlement between Bay to Bay Building Concepts, LARA
An investigation by the Problem Solvers found a pattern of issues among customers that cost homeowners thousands of dollars but some of them got their money back after FOX 17’s involvement.
READ MORE: PROBLEM SOLVERS: STATE: Hastings construction company still owes $66K in restitution payments
Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC eventually settled with the state, but since the company still owes restitution tied to the agreement, they cannot legally do business.
Saeman formed a new limited liability company in November called Bay to Bay LLC. It’s based out of Kentwood.
According to a spokesperson for LARA, Saeman can register a new business but noted it does not mean they would be granted a Michigan residential builder’s license since an individual or entity needs an active license to perform construction work.
“The biggest thing for me is that I want him to know that this is not something that's okay,” said Stockdale.
Stockdale moved out of state to try and better himself after working for Bay to Bay Building Concepts LLC but says without the money he’s owed, it’s hard to envision how that can happen.
He added, “What that money would do for me is, it would help me get to where I'm trying to go. I don't let anything stop me but that point in my life kind of put a halt [to it].”
Stockdale hopes to eventually get paid.
“You can't treat people like this, and it's just not a way to do business,” said Stockdale.
