I am in the state of Michigan and work as an independent contractor for a medical device company. I have worked for this distribution for 6 years, and a previous distribution for 4 years prior too, representing the same product line. Although I signed an independent contractor agreement, that included a non compete, established territory and the right to change my territory, this was never signed by the distributor. The original contract was for a 60/40 split in favor of myself, IF I reached 100 percent of my goal monthly, he did not sign this but did pay this for the first year, which was 2002, then began to pay me only 50/50 and insisted that the 60/40 split ended when the company didn't reach bonus. He recently, 2007, asked me to resign a contract reverting to a 50/ 50 split, and demanded that I signed this and inferred he would not pay me if I didn't have it in his office by a January 27, 2007 due date. At the time my attorney had a family crisis and his child ended in the ICU. I informed the company that this was the circumstance and have emails to back this up. He said that if he didn't receive it, he was not able to do payroll. I changed this number to 80 percent of the profits, remoived some verbage and signed and sent the contract back without the advice of my attorney. Again, I did not receive a signed contract back from him,and he paid the 50/50. In 2006 this distributor opened a warehouse and hired another rep on my side of the state and began taking 1500.00 from my paycheck to cover his wages. Again, this was not agreed to and although originally was pitched to me as a service rep, I later found he was in fact a partner in this stocking distributor. I then insisted that he stop taking the money from my paycheck and he decided to cut my territory in half, move my largest customer to his territory and pay me from this warehouse stocking distributor. This reduced my income by about half, and to the parent manaufacturing company made my sales look as though they had decreased several percentage points. I have always been a top performer and now am in the botton according to his grossly misleading numbers. For the first 4 years, I worked his products 100 percent of the time and his products alone. He dictated to me the territory I sold in and i was responsible for maintaining the numbers and reporting to him with goals, business plans and forcasting. When he began taking money from me, I excersiced my independent status and began to carry some surgical products on my own. He then came to me and tried to insist that I turn these proiducts over to him because it was confusing for the new reps, and I refused to do this. I later and since consistantly find monies, and accounts he has moved to the new male rep( his partner) that is in my new assigned territory. When I confront him about this, he tells me it is his right and If i don't like it to leave. He is trying to force me out of a territory that I developed form the ground up, and because all commissions and reportings come into him, he plays the puppet master and determines which rep he gives what. I am a 43 year old single mother of 3 children who is in soul support of my family. I do not have any other means of an income, and I tell him I will never quit. He has now again come to me for the third time to have a meeting about my surgical products I carry and tells me that I either need to pick his stuff up, or leave. He gave us the option a few years ago to take his products and stood in a meeting and said there would be no ramifications if we did not. Now he is renigging and is looking at the income my territory is generating to move in a new rep and try to build his surgical business in my territory. Please advice me, as I have been trying to research this and talk with attorney's with no prevail. They keep telling me that if he did not sign the contract that there is not a binding agreement even though I did sign the contract and have been being paid by him for 6 years??? but I can't believe that he can steal from me, move my largest account around take half my territory with no recourse, either civil or criminal??? I also feel that for the first 4 years I was an employee instead of an independent contractor despite the contract I had to sign, and feel the stealing is criminal. We are talking about 60,000 or so I know about and who knows what I don't know about. This has caused great mental and physcial stress on me and my family, and has greatly effected my performace. Although, I still manage to be within stricking distance to a goal, he keeps taking from, I have proof of him moving accounts after the division in my territory, which are in the heart of my new territory and now he claims they are house accounts and he will determine the rep split on these. Please advice me on how I can proceed and what area of law I need to proceed in? He has requested a meeting again and prefaces it with we either need to work this out or part our seperate ways. I am fearful he is going to fire me if I don't agree to give up my surgical to do his. and this would put me into bankruptcy. The years he deducted the 1500.00 from my check required me to pay some expenses with credit cards and I have debts. He also has made several notations that I have been a hard to work with over the past 2 years, and unevitably will be the reason for my termination. I have worked hard, gained business and continue to gain business. My customers like me, and they would disagree I am hard to work with. Most would tell you the only reason they do business with this company is because of me, but I know he is trying to cover his bases. He has been dishonest, poached my business, taken money from me and just expects me to do nothing, which up until now, I have done nothing other then express my concerns for being treated unfairly. Any help would be appreciate and the sooner the better as my meeting is Monday at 10am

