I too have not been paid for work from this company. It is frustrating and while I understand the seeming logic behind the idea that the money flows downhill, it is still just an excuse.  I have a very small research firm and we occasionally hire out independent abstractors to help with our searches and though I was stiffed for over 20K last year and looks like it will be another 30K this year, I still have NEVER failed to pay my abstractors. It's called OPERATING CAPITAL. What needs to happen is people shouldn't start a company without emergency funds to cover such occurences. That's just plain irresponsible. Business owners should know better than to fly by the seat of their pants or operate on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis.  I'd like to hear the sympathy and understanding I get from the electric company when I explain that the reason I can't pay my electric bill is that my client just isn't paying me. I'm sure it would cause them to pause for a brief second just before flipping the switch to cut off my electricity.