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I suspect a business this unscrupuolus may not be licensed to do business at all. I'd contact the city he did the work in, and find out if they had the appropriate licenses to do that work. In other words, the more distress he causes for them, the more likely they are to pay him to go away.
If the boss is doing that kind of stuff, he probably hasn't paid his EU insurance either. That'll open his eyes.
Our sons were in very much the same predicament. Payment was cash, they didn't earn enough to file taxes and since it was all cash there were no payroll records. No one was paying Unemployment Insurance, so no claim could be filed. They were owed several hundred each. We probably should have pursued small claims, but collecting can be another issue and since we knew he had no money we decided not to spend the energy figuring they would not likely get blood from a turnip. It sucked because they worked hard for their money!
I retired from USDOL/WH so let me give you a couple pointers: WH will not take legal action against the employer unless it is a big deal (employer has money, situation involves others). The best you could get is a letter that says that they determined that your are owed back wages and the employer refused to pay the MINIMUM WAGE. You could take that to small claims court or you could just initiate a claim in back wages your own to enforce the agreement at a higher rate. The court will issue a judgment which you can exercise against any of the employer's assets within your state's statutory period (when it gets close just re-file).
You can go both ways at once but small claims is usually the most effective and if your state has any penalty provisions for failure to pay wages you can ask for that too.
Thank you all for the info and help. I will pass these along.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell Plotts
I retired from USDOL/WH so let me give you a couple pointers: WH will not take legal action against the employer unless it is a big deal (employer has money, situation involves others). The best you could get is a letter that says that they determined that your are owed back wages and the employer refused to pay the MINIMUM WAGE. You could take that to small claims court or you could just initiate a claim in back wages your own to enforce the agreement at a higher rate. The court will issue a judgment which you can exercise against any of the employer's assets within your state's statutory period (when it gets close just re-file).
You can go both ways at once but small claims is usually the most effective and if your state has any penalty provisions for failure to pay wages you can ask for that too.
Do you know if he would be able to collect for late fees incurred due to not being paid?
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