What if your business is in trouble and you have to cut costs? Cut overhead or lay off employees, but don't expect employees to go without getting paid. You have a legal obligation to pay employees wages due to them. And they can sue you to get paid.
Non-payment of Overtime
Don't try to play games with these legal obligations by playing tricks with employee pay. In one case, the Sugar Plum Fairy Baking Company was sued by employees for non-payment of overtime, along with other labor law violations. The company is alleged to have paid employees in two checks. One check was for wages up to 40 hours a week, from which deductions were taken. The second check was for overtime at straight time with no deductions taken. If these charges are true, the company's practices are illegal on several counts:
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that overtime be paid over 40 hours worked in a week, at the rate of 1 1/2 times. For example, if the employee's hourly rate is $10, any hours worked over 40 in a week would be paid at $15. Some states may have overtime variations but most require that overtime be paid at a higher rate.
- Deductions are required from all pay. This includes withholding for the employee's federal and state income taxes, and the employee's portion of the FICA (Social Security) and Medicare withholding. Not deducting from the overtime checks affects the employee's taxes and understates the liability for employment taxes.
Using Paychecks as Punishment
You are also not legally able to withhold a paycheck as punishment for employee non-compliance with rules. In a case in Oregon, an employer wanted to withhold paychecks from employees who did not sign time sheets in a timely manner. This is also a "no-no." You as the employer are responsible for tracking hours worked and paying employees on regular paydays. Employers who want to discipline employees must find a different way to do it besides withholding paychecks.
If you Declare Bankruptcy
If you declare bankruptcy and you owe money to employees, they become creditors just like others and they may not get paid all they are owed. Employees are not in the top priority class of creditors, and their wages, salaries, or commissions must have been earned within 180 days prior to the bankruptcy, to a maximum of $10,950 for each individual. So, while these payments are limited, they are still part of the bankruptcy payout.
So in case you are considering playing "fast and loose" with employee pay, don't.
For employees and former employees reading this article: If you have an issue with non-payment of wages, you can hire an attorney to attempt to get these wages paid to you, or you can file a complaint with your state employment office. I'm not able to answer individual questions or comments about non-payment of wages.
I was wondering if my empolyer did not pay me for a month worth of pay and I was later let go. I’m still waiting on some of my pay and was wondering the laws on this matter.
This is an excellent question. I’m going to put it on the Forum (http://biztaxlaw.about.com/forum) as a new thread, so I can address your question in detail. The title is “Employer Required to Pay Wages.”
I would like to know on what I can do to report my previous employer for non payment part of my wage, He was holding a check for 25% of my paycheck that he deducted. Ive tried to many times to get what they owe me and until now for 3 months now I am still awaiting for it. Can I report the employer to credit bureau? What Can I do? Please help.
Start with your state’s employment bureau, which can initiate a claim against the company. You may also want to get an attorney; I know they are expensive, but a good attorney has a better chance of getting money than you do on your own.
I would like to know, if my employee hasn’t paid my current paycheck, it is past the EDD’s 10 day limit (in CA), and there is no word on when paychecks will be issued, but I haven’t been fired, at what point do I have the right to consider myself laid-off and may file for unemployment?
I would suggest you check with the California employment department. They can contact your employer and see what’s going on. If other employees are in the same position, others may already have contacted this department too.
I started as a contract employee and the contract clearly states I am to be paid every 2 weeks beginning 02/12/10. I have not received a paycheck and the company claims to have mailed the check on Feb 8th. I have incurred approx $1500.00 in expenses with this job. As the contract clearly states I am to be paid on Feb, 12, are they in violation of the contract? Direct deposit was set up prior to my beginning work but the company chose instead to mail the check. Is the company’s obligation to insure I am paid by Feb 12?
I worked for a company as a contract recruiter, the company later went out of business but one of the candidates that I had submitted for a job was actually hired, can I sue the owners for the money?
Since Dec. 16, 2009 my employer did not pay us our payroll / wages. Towards 2010, they only issued us checks as Cash Advances but not regularly in lieu of our payroll. We even had to beg for partial payment as our bills also overtake us monthly and we’re even charged with penalties. I can understand the company has cash flow problems but it’s been 6 months now and they don’t want to layoff. I found out that they have not remitted our payroll taxes, SSA or EDD as of today June 2010.
What should I do?
My employer has issued 2 paychecks, both of which have bounced causing a negative balance in my bank account. My employer says he will pay in cash plus the additional fees my bank issued to me. I have not received any cash yet, just one promise of payment after another. I continue to work and soon another paycheck is due me. What recourse do I have?
I worked for a company that was hit really hard by the recession. We were asked to work full time, (40 hours) but only get paid for 24 hours, while the firm was still billing our time at 40 hours to clients, in essence using our ‘sweat equity’ to bail out the company. The understanding was that when (or if) things were better, we would get reimbursed for those hours. The ability to take any of our sick or vacation pay were also suspended. It’s a small company and the employees stayed on because we believed in what the company does… fast forward to almost a year later and I have recently moved on (couldn’t take the 40% paycut anymore!) and there is an agreement to pay me back for the unpaid hours, as well as unpaid vacation. But, the firm is now trying to claim that they are not legally bound to pay out accrued sick time, which is true under normal circumstances, but what if they wouldn’t let me take it when I did work there? I don’t want to sue them, and I still believe in what they work for, but I would like some leverage to ask for that sick pay… any thoughts would be helpful! Thanks.
Once you are awarded judgement for wages/pto/etc., and given the the employer can’t pay, can I deduct the amount awarded in my taxes, thereby decreasing my taxable income.
Your Form W-2 for the year should reflect only income actually paid to you. If the W-2 is overstated (to reflect the judgment) you would take a miscellaneous itemized deduction under the claim of right doctrine. You can also take an itemized deduction for legal and court fees you incurred in attempting to collect from your employer. Both of these deductions are discussed in IRS Publication 529.
You should also contact your state employment agency and the IRS regarding the unpaid wages. The IRS especially has nearly unlimited ability to collect, and they aggressively pursue unpaid employment taxes. This may or may not get additional money into your pocket, but it can help ensure any of your payroll deductions were properly paid over to the IRS.
I just realized, I have an article on the topic of what to do when a W-2 is incorrect. So if the W-2 you receive is overstated, you can correct the W-2 figures directly on the tax return instead of using the more cumbersome deduction under the claim of right. Also, an IRS spokesperson I talked to gave some additional tips for how to go about handling that situation on your return.
That being said, your W-2 for the year might be correct. If so, it should reflect the amount of wages you actually earned during the year. In this case, because the W-2 is accurate you won’t need to make any adjustments or take deductions (which may or may not reduce your tax bill, depending on your specific situation).
Hope this clarifies things a bit.
I was wondering if the employer made the entire office sign a peice of paper saying they would withhold 4 hours if we failed to clock in or out as needed is this still binding and is it legal? Also when failed to clock in it alters the rest of the time improperly and therefore makes you miss eight hours only by clock time when you did work a full eight hours is this illegal to not pay the employee eight hours? Sincerly in need of an answer Wendy thank you
I completed 3 assignments at retail stores. The company i have been working for for almost 3years is an independent contractor. The Assignments were all completed by 9/15/10. payment should have been issued by 10/1/10. Everytime I ask about my payment, they tell me “the check is in the mail”. Is there something else I can do to get the money Im entitled to?
The Atlanta Fun Center/owner John Chisena owes his employees money for hrs worked and not paid & checks being bounced. The doors of the company were closed on Oct. 18, 2010 leaving a large amout of money owed to current employees. I have the payroll spreadsheets on my computer and would like to know how if possible we as a whole can get our money from the company. Please help, any information would be helpful. thanks
As i have mentioned before, the place to start with an employment complaint, is your state’s employment office. Contact the Georgia Department of Labor via email or phone to find the office that can help you. Having a spreadsheet is a good start; the DOL will need to go through the employer’s records to verify the wages.
My employer is 7 weeks behind in paying my wages. First 3 checks bounced, then I just stopped getting paychecks. I’m told he will take care of me and my fees incurred once he gets some money. I had him sign a letter with details of what he owes me, but he laughed and said this letter won’t do anything if I don’t have money. I have tried to hold out for him to pay, but this is ruining my life…my bills behind, rent, car could get repo’d any day and my relationship is hurting from this as well. I have my offer letter, returned check reciepts, calendar of time, the letter I had him sign and also i got a statement from his previous employee stating that he failed to pay her as well. I am handing him a letter today for demand of payment. When do I sue? Do I have a good case? What can I recoup and how much will it cost me? I am in Rhode Island.
My employer (Georgia) arbitrarily takes away commissions earned for making the slightest mistake. There is no policy regarding this . Is there a law preventing an employer from using one’s paycheck as a punishment tool and what can I do?
I worked for a bank as a comissioned mortgage loan originator. i left the company voluntarily and now the employer does not want to pay me for part of my commission income due me. i live in NC but they are headquartered in SC. what can I do?
my former employer require us to be at the shop at 7am to load vehicles for the day but had us punch in after we arived at the jobsite sometimes 2 or 3 hrs later is this illeagal?
It’s my understanding that any work you are required or “permitted” by your employer to do must be paid for. You might want to check with your state’s department of labor to see if there is anything you can do about this.
Please help me I am working part time and has a week paid vacation but will like to take two extra days .my boss says she does not approved. And will not pay me my vacation pay.
My employer (small business owner with 3 employees) has recently suffered a fire to his home/office. Due to his circumstances i was trying to be considerate and offer him to lay me off temporarily to get back on his feet, which he accepted. Since then i have not received 1 mnths pay he has owed me, along with another employer who has since left as well. For 2 mnths now he has been stringing us along with excuses and promises to pay (thro emails) without ever following thro.
When the 2 of us finally decided to speak our minds about this (after being very patient and understanding for 2mnths) he then proceeded to tell us thro email that technically he doesnt have to pay us as he regd as a corp for a reason , (so there was no personal liability) and because the business was still new and hasnt made any money yet he can not be personally liable for the debts the business owes. he even went as far to say that if he wanted to he could file bankruptsy and not have to pay us all. Is there anything i can do about this?? Is he right?
Melissa:
No matter what type of business he has, your employer must pay you. It’s the law. But you will need to start a claim against him. Go to your state’s department of labor (some states call it a “wage and hour” department) . It may take some time to find the correct section, but keep asking.
If your employer declares bankruptcy, you are still in line to be paid, depending on how much money the company has. It’s better to try to get the money now, before he declares bankruptcy.
Well im 15 years old and i went to work with my dad but he said i would get a check of $200 a week well it ended up being friday and the boss said sorry cant right you a check he did this for about 2 and a half months then i ended up getting back prombles from lift to heavy of stuff can i sue them and for how much.
It might seem like a good idea to sue your father, but it might cause more trouble for both of you. If state agencies determine that your father violated laws, his business could be damaged. That can’t benefit either of you. You can certainly try to get an attorney to hear your case, but you might have to pay cash since you are a minor. You might also search for a free legal clinic in your area.
Before you talk to an attorney, I would suggest trying to work it out together. If you find it difficult to talk to him, get someone else to meet with both of you – a family friend or religious advisor or someone you both trust. It’s always best to settle disputes out of court. Once you start a court case, you can never be sure where it will end.
I worked as an independent contractor for a small company who’s doing business with 2 LLC(for comment sake; “A” is solely the person’s own and &”B” is backed by a financier)
At the beginning of the year I worked for “B” but was paid with “A”‘s money. Recently, I went back to work for “B” and invoiced them for the whole project. They haven’t paid me what’s owed. Worse case scenario, can I write back wage on my taxes?
I think you are asking if you can reduce your income for the unpaid amounts. Since the income has not been recognized anyway, you can’t reduce it. If you have the income as an accounts receivable, though, you should be able to take it as a bad debt. Get your records to show the work you did and the non-payment and talk to your tax preparer at tax time.
My employer took $1300.00 out of my payroll check due to a vehicle accident in a work truck. I’m assuming this is not legal, can I sue to get my money back – only that amount or more?
A friend of mine works for a chain sandwich shop and someone stole a case of bread. Her boss says she is going to deduct money from everyone’s pay to cover the cost. Is that legal?
No, it certainly is not. Employee pay cannot be cut except by employee consent or by contract (in other words, if there is something in writing that employees have agreed to that allows this pay cut). If the boss follows through with this threat, employees should contact the state employment agency or state labor departmentto let them know about the situation.
Jean, I have a sticky situation and I hope to get answers from you. I feel fortunate to have found your site.
The owner of the restaurant I worked at used our tip money to pay for expenses with the venders. This is not revenue for the restaurant but money the staff brought in. This is a crime correct??
Shaving off hours from hours worked during pay period. This is a crime correct??
Not paying employees for a total of five weeks now. This is a crime correct?? The place has shut its doors with plans to reopen in 2 months. Staff went to labor board and filed claims. I know we will get paid with interests accrued on the amount but it could take time.
I also feel that he should be penalized for fraudulence and stealing. Am I correct that I have every right to do this?
If you went to the Labor Board in your state and filed claims, at this point you have done all you can do. You can also contact an attorney individually to see what other remedies you might have in this situation.
You reference a case in Oregon about withholding paycheck to punish employees. that link is broken. Do you have an up-to-date link or citation to that case as we are having a similar problem with our employer?
I am currently in the process of filing a complaint with the dept. of labor for non payment of overtime wages & drawing unemployment from the same employer, my question is, do I have to accept my old job back if it’s offered back to me with a roughly guessing 20% decrease in pay,and can I reject the job offer w/o losing my unemployment benefits and knowing that overtime won’t be paid to me AGAIN?
I would like to know what are my rights if my place of employment shuts down without telling employees and then does not pay the employees for the previous two weeks they worked. What do I need to do?
i owned a corporation that closed down in 2006 and filed personal bankruptcy shortly after. The utah labor commission has required me to pay back more than the amount owed to the employees for wages the company was unable to pay. am i personally responsible to pay the employees myself even thoughtthe employees were included in my bankruptcy.
I work as a contract employee for Thonyson Corporation. They are 2 month behind in paying me. The same thing happened last year. In Dec 2011, I finally received my September check. Right now I am owed for Feb 2012 and March 2012. I’m being told payment for February will be received by April 28, 2012 and the March check by May 28, 2012 . Is there something I can do to get my funds sooner? Any suggestions are appreciated.
There’s not much you can do. If you took legal action, it would just delay payment. I know it’s not right, but all you can do is be patient. I know it’s beyond frustrating!
I did all the start up for my husband and his partner’s medical practice…all they had to do was walk in and start seeing patients. The agreement THOUGH NOT IN WRITING that I would wait till there was enough revenue to get paid. I documented all hours spent and what was done each day…It has been 9 months and they could afford to start paying me but one of the owners (not my husband of couse) did not want to pay. Now they have decided to separate and go their own ways…. but I still have not been paid for services rendered….can i sue even though I don’t have anything in writing but the business plan that does state I would be paid when the business had sufficient revenue to do so?
this week, 4-27-12 adams produce here in pensacola florida made everyone leave the building owing over 500 people 3 weeks of wages due to them. the company said they were trying to file chapter 11 but instead it was chapter 7 leaving me and lots of families in need of their money to feed their children and paying rent and bills…..Please is there anything we can do in order to get what monies are due to each of us. i need to find out if we can file charges against them on a civil act or if any actions can be done. PLEASE HELP
First, you should apply for unemployment. You could get an attorney for the the group, but this won’t get you any money quickly and you will have to pay the attorney to represent your group in the bankruptcy. You might also want to file a claim with the Florida employment board, but this can take time, too. Unfortunately, if the company has filed for liquidation (Chapter 7), there’s no fast way to get money.
I work in FL, My employer submits time in Monday am by 12 noon. She wants my time written down everyday in a public time sheet book for everyone there to see everyone’s time. If it is not done everyday she says we are not getting paid. Is this legal?
My previous job was ordered through investigation by the labor board to pay me a sum of money by a certain date. When they sent the check $1100 was deducted for a cell phone that i was paying $50 a month for. How can i go about getting this money they deducted?
I was laid off and not paid 3 weeks worth of wages and expense reports. I filed a claim with the California Labor Board and also let the Unemployment (EDD) department know that although I was an employee I was 1099 in order for my employer to not pay taxes. Now, there is an ongoing investigation and audit being done. My previous employer has a personal issue with me (emails to prove) and they are now threatening to say that they are accusing me of forgery and theft! I believe they are just doing this in order to not pay me but can I do anything?
My husbands last paycheck bounced. Today the bookkeeper came out of the office and said that she was going to give the employees a check for their regular hours but they could not cash them until maybe tomorrow. One day next week she will give them their check for overtime and holiday. Today is the first of the month and rent is due. I know from previous experience that this is probably the beginning of the end for this company. Last time we went through this we had to involve the labor board. This situation is particularly sad because my husband has been working there full time and then part time for forty years.
my job is telling me that it will be 7 weeks before I get my 1st full paycheck. I’m having to make life decisions with borrowed gas money. Is that legal ?? Is it even close to right ??
It depends on how often the company pays. If they pay only monthly, it’s possible that you may have to wait a month to get paid.
My partner has been working for a company for 7 years and he got paid a month in advance they have now told him next year he wil get paid in February but then wil not receive another payment til april he was on lesa money at the time too someone please help me is this allowed???
I work @ a veterinary clinic in the state of Washington and I am leaving the clinic because i got a better job offer. I had some dental work done on my dogs teeth during my employment and I have been paying what I can every month. When I asked my employer for a paycheck advance, He informed me that I could not get one cause he was going to talk the total amount that I still owe on it out of my paycheck. He does payment plans with clients all the time and I was a client at the clinic way before i wa an employee. Is this legal?
Is it legal for my employer to only pay me part of what I have earned in a pay period? I worked and I deserve to be paid for all of the hours I worked. What can I do about this?
my husband is in a union and his company went bankrupt. his union was not supposed to allow his boss to operate once she exceeded her bond amt. they allowed it and now the bond co is disputing the bond amt. and the union is disputing also. its in court. im sure lawyers will get it all. meanwhile, were out six thousand dollars. can we sue the employer at least for the amount that was shown on his paychecks as income, that we were supposed to receive in a vacation check and in a money market acct. that he was taxed on as income.? that is about three thousand. the rest was to go into pension and annuity. maybe small claims court.
I was recently let go from a company. I was salaried, meaning same pay not matter what hours I worked. They said because of this I was considered exempt from overtime laws. However I learn recently that a computer technician is not exempt from the flsa.
I calculated that I am due about 1500.00, all earn in less then 13 months. Do you think it is worth pursuing by filing a complaint with the DOL?
Thanks
One more question, would you, as a former employee, contact your former employer about the overtime pay and give them the opportunity to correct or not say anything an file the complaint?
my boss did not pay me my overtime, i worked extra cause people on vacation i worked 48 hrs she paid me 2 hrs ot and 6 training to not go over her budget , i have been there 12 yrs def not training what do i do?
I work for an Assisted Living Facility and my salary has been withheld by my boss for disiplinary actions because I gave medications and did not sign the sheets. is this legal?
What if an employer will not answer his phone, nor pay you for the work that has been done?
I was laid off in 2010 and am still owed almost $7,000, plus expenses. I also found out they had not been contributing my allotted deductions to my 401k as specified. When they laid off the majority of the company, we were given a letter stating they would pay our Cobra if and until we got another job or insurance. Well, the 18 months of Cobra is expired so now I don’t have insurance and they still haven’t paid me. Additionally, I found out they have employees who were laid off shortly after me that are still receiving health insurance benefits as full-time employees and were never put on Cobra! They are NOT employees. The human resource manager even verified this and admitted they are lying. I suspect they kept them on the plan so the 2-3 employees attempting to keep the company afloat can still have a health insurance policy (assuming they need a minimum number of employees to have a company plan).
What, if any, legal recourse do I have? I have also done some digging of my own and have found numerous loans given to the company. Shouldn’t that money be used to pay their outstanding debts to their former employees?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I would like to know if I could sue my previous employer for not paying me ? The reason for me not getting paid according to her was that I was just on training . I only worked for her a week which would be $200.00 or so , can I sue her even if I only worked 29 hours ?
My employer is planning to stop paying unused vacation time at the end of the year. Next year they are going to only pay 75% of what they owe at the end of the year. My question is who pays the taxes on the remaining 25%? My understanding of why they pay out the vacation at the end of the year is that the IRS considers this untaxed income if it remains on the books at the end of the year.
I filed a claim with department of industrial relations, and had my hearing on October 15th. At the hearing my previous employer lied a bunch to the hearing officer that was handling my claim. I want to know what are my chances of winning ? She and her lawyer made up lies trying to defend themselves. Please help me? Anyone familiar with these kind if cases?
my husband won his case with the labor board for unpaid vacations. we are still waiting for the labor board to collect. how long does it take and what steps do the take to collect. it has been approx. 2 years since he was awarded his judgement.
I went to USA to work in a camp from June trough July and I have not been paid yet. I`ve send him lots of email saying how much i need the money. I also have the contract of the camp which says how much I should have been paid weekly. I have my social security number and paid taxes from my salary. Is there something I can do?
Contact the employment office in the state where the employer is located, and tell them you want to file a complaint against your employer.
If my job says you need to render services online daily, turn in sign in sheet by Monday 8am and I missed two days of logging in online is it legal for them to say “you can’t get paid for those two days because you did not render?” but i did turn in my sign in sheet saying I did provide services.
Can anybody tell me what to do? I made a loan from my boss and we agreed that an amout would be deducted off. The came a time when I noticed that the amount was no longer being taken off my salary and I asumed that all the money was paid. However I have resigned and suddenly my boss tells me that the full amount of the loan was not deducted of my salary. They had forgotted to deduct the amount. Now she has taken off all money due from my paycheck and I dont have a salary at all. Is this legal. I know the money is still due to her but I do have dedt and need to buy food, how am I going to do this. This was their fault as well as mine but I am the one paying for the mistake. What now????
My daughter is working a recently opened restaurant, Rescue me @ Trios in New Port Richey, FL. She has been there more than 4 weeks and has not received pay. Al the owner told her and the other employees he was waiting on a “Loan” so he could pay them!!! Um, something wrong with this picture?? Who do we go to?
Thank you
I worked for a company for nine months, I get paid base salary and commission, I do receive salary but not commission which they owe
me the entire nine months, what they are saying they been bought
out but I haven’t receive my large comm. is it by law they have to pay me
before December 31st before the next following year.
Thank you-Ron
I did a job for a company and it was a contract deal and its been a month and i still havent got paid so what can i do if im ilegal to work here with no perment what can i do?
I have a situation with my employer. A lot of times with the holiday pays they don’t give it to you. Meaning they only would pay you for 32 hours. I always need to be telling my manager that i wasn’t pay for the holiday and it takes sometimes 1 month to get the pay add it in the check. This thanksgiving they didn’t pay my holiday had to tell my manager approx. like 4 times to do the correction.Also spoke to the manager of the payroll and he send me back to speak with my manager.The point is that they paid my thanksgiving after a month.This Christmas 12/25/2012 they also didn’t pay my holiday. I just check online.This means i need to go again with the situation of talking to my managers to get my paid. New years that is today i was schedule to work that means i get time and half, i call out because from now on i’m not going to work holiday if they are not going to pay me. Now i need to wait weeks to get that pay. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS SITUATION ????
I work for a well known retail outlet, I started off as a Sales Associate, shortly after they promoted me to a full time position of Supervisor and promised me a minimum of 32 hours a week, as stated in their employee hand book. Recently they haven’t been following through with the 32 hour minimum, is there something I can do about this!? HELP HELP HELP.
I left my previous employer last February 2012 & I was sent a final check of $14 that did not add up to my total hours of Paid Time off that i had accumulated there. When i spoke to my HR rep she referred me to corporate HR. They had stated in their records they showed my “termination” date 2.5 to 3 weeks after I had actually left so, i needed to let my local HR rep know to change it. When i mentioned this she said that is not true & that if she changed my termination date to what it actually should be, that I would owe the company $. It didn’t seem right so, i left it alone. Almost a year later (jan 2013) I get a call from them saying i have a check & in the amount that i knew i was owed. This is in Texas; however the company is a very well known corporation. Can i sue for w/holding wages or at the very least file a complaint?
I was recently fire from job for damage to a container the agency is telling me they are not going to pay me the money i work for because the company does not want to pay me what can i do to get the money they owe me
My ex-employer did not pay several paychecks due to bankruptcy.
The workforce commission could not assist me in getting the wages back due to the bankruptcy. Here it is three years later and the bankruptcy is still an open case. When I spoke to the judge, I was told the chances of getting the wages owed to me were null. I am at a loss and would like to know if you have any suggestions on what I should do next.
My ex-employer owes me three paychecks plus expenses.
The company went into bankruptcy therefore the workforce commission could not assist me. Here it is three years later and the bankruptcy case is still open. When I recently spoke to the judge about getting my wages, I was told that the chances of getting the paychecks owed to me were null. At this point, I am at a loss and cannot afford an attorney. Would you happen to have any suggestions?
I am still waiting for my past empolyer to pay me, my last two pay checks. He tells me he is waiting to get paid for a job so he can pay me. What? do I do? its has been a mouth now, and he stop awsering my calls. I’m looking for help.
I am working as a independent contractor for an advertising firm with no written contract unfortunately, however, I have worked for this company before with no written contract and was paid. This year he paid me my salary with no deductions and I have sold approximately $47,000 in advertising that I have copies of contracts. I have not received any commission for any of those contracts. What can I do?
You don’t get a salary, just a payment for services. You could take your case to an attorney with proof that you were paid in the past. You might also check the limits for small claims court and see if you can take your case there. If you have (a) proof that you were paid in the past and (b) proof that you have sales for the year in question, you might get a judgment against this company.
i work for a global inc company,a very much house hold name.i recieve my checks bi monthly on the 15th and the last day of the month, on the 31st of december i recieved my check and it should have been for 96 hours,but the check was 24 hrs short,i went to my manager and showed him the problem with my check ,told him they still owed me money.he called corprate hr and they found the hrs i was missing,they said they would add it to my next check,i told him that that was unacceptable,they should cut my check today ,corp hr said they cant do that.. i told him to call them back and tell them that they were in violation of state law employee code.all of a sudden they mailed me a check for 200 dollars,a hard check no taxes, they said they would add 24 hrs to next check and deduct the 200 they advanced me . …. 24 hrs= 370 and change …. on the next check my hrs were for 88 hrs and again the 24 hrs were missing in its place was a 243.00 earning adjust ment which they told me they deducted the taxes ahead of time (which was about 127,50) which wasnt shown anywhere on the check,then added the 243 to my 88 hrs and taxed it again… then under deductions they retrieved there 200 advancement to me …the way i see it they ‘re tryn to pay me 43 dollars for 24hrs ….is this at all legal and if not what do i do to retrieve my money from them
My former employer went out of business and is filing bankruptcy. They owe wages that were never paid (bad checks, etc) and child support that they withheld from my check but did not pay in to the child support office. I had to pay to catch up on the child support that they withheld but didn’t pay in.
Of course the state will not help me recover the money, I have to file a small claim against the company. However, they are going through bankruptcy, so I will never get my money back.
I am basically out over $4000 but they sent me a W-2 for the full wages I earned. How can I handle this for tax purposes?
First, contact your employer and discuss the incorrect W-2. If you can’t get them to change the W-2 by February 14, contact the IRS to dispute the W-2. It’s important to file the dispute, because any discrepancies between what you report on your income tax return and what the employer turns in for your W-2 can be a problem for you.
For more information from the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/Help-&-Resources/Tools-&-FAQs/FAQs-for-Individuals/Frequently-Asked-Tax-Questions-&-Answers/IRS-Procedures/W-2—Additional,-Incorrect,-Lost,-Non-receipt,-Omitted/W-2—Additional,-Incorrect,-Lost,-Non-receipt,-Omitted-2
I have a contracting company I work for in Michigan. This coming up Monday (16th of Feb, 2013) is a pay day, but because Monday is President’s Day, I am being told by my company that I have to wait till Tuesday to get paid. Is this legal to do?? If the 16th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, they do the same thing, make you wait till Monday for your paycheck…
I am not sure who I can go ask…
Thanks for your help with this matter in advance.
Kim Schmee
A year ago, I quit my job because my husband was deploying to Afghanistan. I had to move everything from North Carolina to Virginia in 2 weeks. My uniform somehow got lost in transition and when I went to get my final paycheck, my employer refused to give it to me until I returned the uniform. Is this illegal? I am now back working at this company, and am wondering if too much time has passed to inquire about it, and if I do- do I have grounds to demand it back? I worked for that money that I am now having to claim on my taxes- but never recieved it.
I worked for a place since Nov 2012, quit on Jan 31 because of no paycheck being recvd. The owner, after much badgering, wrote me a check I can’t cash. Who do I sue, the business or the owner who wrote the check?
Work extra shifts and my employer said I have to take them as holiday days what I’ve worked instead of being payed can he do this
My husband’s employer is way behind (well over a year) on paying business expenses for the small company where he works. The total is over $50,000 at this point. Do we have any legal recourse?
I’ve been working at a company for 2 months and haven’t recieved the “pay card” I was supposed to get. Besides tips, I haven’t seen a penny from this job. I’ve called corporate, and then I had to call and tell them that the name on my direct deposit slips (for the card that I still HAD NOT RECIEVED) had my name misspelled (even though I had to write it several times on my application) and they told me that they couldn’t send me a Paycard until I faxed a letter stating my information, the name change, and a copy of my license. It’s been two weeks since I’ve done that, and still no pay card. What legal action can I take?
question, my employer says he pays over time after 86 hours of work in a pay period. I never asked too many questions but now he says 87 hours in a pay period how is this possible if in a week I work 45 hours and the next week work 45 hours and only payed overtime for 3 hours. I understand work weeks being split but for full weeks I should get over time, correct? please help Im not sure how to approch it.
My company is growing and now we have 80 employees so in the past my company never held first paycheck but now my owner decided to make this rule for the new employees. Also he wants to hold one week pay check for the existing employees as well so all can be in a same line . My question is that is it legal to hold the one week paycheck??? since these employees are working for this company for almost 18 years. Also what does the IL law says about this????
The company I worked for in Ohio filed for bankruptcy & we were all laid off. The company doesn’t exist anymore. I had 152 hours of accrued vacation time. A lot of my co-workers also had a lot of vacation time. Can we sue the company for the money that we earned in vacation hours?
I live in Kansas City, MO. I work in light commercial plumbing. Haven’t worked in 30 days and my boss says I’m not laid off and to not draw unemployment. Is he playing a statute of limitation game so I can’t draw unemployment? Please help and thanks.
I live in New Jersey, a family friend offered me a position in his start up company. I signed a 5 year contract with them on November 1, 2010. I worked from home as they were just getting a warehouse started, and I received a paycheck every two weeks; three months in my pay stopped coming and they blamed it on investments, I would then get all the back pay and receive normal checks. Since September of 2012 I have not received a paycheck but I get updated that the money will be available the next week. This never happens. I questioned the CEO and he told me that they voided my contract due to the business not meeting its potential. I received this information on April 17, 2012. Am I not still entitled to all the back money owed to me? Due to their false promises they have put me in financial turmoil, and why now was my contract voided??
My girlfriend currently works at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley, San Diego CA. Recently, she worked a Sixty hour two week pay period as a server in the hotel’s sushi bar and was told she would not get a paycheck because her tips for that pay period were too high. However, she does receive all tips due to being taxed by hotel and tipping out two bartenders, three sushi chefs and one busboy. how can we get the assistance in this matter and is she entitled to a paycheck? What would be our best approach to this predicament? any and all comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Matthew Busch
In New York State are you personally liable for a labor board judgement for past wages if you are a closed S-Corp?
My boyfriends bosses have not paid his pay for 4 weeks now. Some of this is prevailing wage and bonuses along with the 4 weeks of pay. As a result we have been evicted and my car repossessed. We are furious and don’t know what to do? We have called labor board but so far no response and he only stays to get what he is owed. As a side note the original company was under bankruptcy a year ago and as of last week just sold the company to someone else, but they still keep saying we will guarantee you (my boyfriend) is paid tomorrow.
The company I have worked at for just over 2 years closed down two weeks ago. My employer has given both my coworker and I our last paychecks, however there are insufficient funds in the account. We have been trying to contact him via telephone, email and in person, but he is ignoring us. What can we do?
My former employer California S Corp owes me overtime wages. I hired an attorney and we sent a demand letter to the owner but the only reply to the letter was “Who are her witnesses?” Next step was to file a lawsuit but found out the company shut down on 5/16/13. My attorney dropped my case and now I’m left not knowing what my rights are. Can I still collect my overtime and if so what are the steps I need to take.
I turned in a doctors note and I have not been paid. I was told it was not acceptance. what alternative measures do I have in order to get paid?