Legal Question in Employment Law in California

i was hired at a company back in January of 2016. At that time i was led to believe it was a full time position, and would start in February 2016. So I started working there and came to find out about 3 weeks into my employment there, that I had only been hired because they needed someone with my qualifications to help them set up there website as well as teach them how to use the company work truck.(which i had 2 years of experience at my previous job) They had me fill out a w2 form as well as they got my bank account info to set up automatic payroll. As soon as they got this information from me, I was told that they no longer needed me there.

Now come this January being tax season, February 1st came, and I hadn't received my w2 form from them. From what I have read online, no matter how long or short the employment was, the employer is still suppose to send you the w2 for when you file your taxes.Is this correct?

Also, i emailed that old employer asking why I had not received it yet. The response I got back in an email, was from someone at that company stating they hadlost my paperwork and info, and they were hoping that I would be willing to lie and file taxes like I was a hired as a contractor and not employed as an employee like I was. they offered to pay me $50.00 if I would accept this offer. Is this legal? something tells me this is a big no no with the IRS. I responded back that i would not lie and that it is against the law to do so on tax forms. They replied that I would have to wait till April 1st to get anything more from them as far as forms go..

I would appreciate it if someone could please help me with this. If there is a possible case here, I would love to pursue it, and will be looking for representation if thats the case.

not sure if i put this in the right category. i apologize if its not.


Asked on 2/04/17, 9:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

You are correct that what they are doing is illegal, but it is essentially between them and the IRS. If an employer fails or refuses to provide you a W-2, there is a form you can file with your taxes declaring that you were an employee, stating the amount of compensation paid, and related particulars and the IRS will process your taxes pretty much the same as if you had received your W-2. They will then deal with the employer who probably failed to pay their share of payroll taxes. If you did not receive pay stubs for the directly deposited money, you may also have a small penalty claim against the employer under California labor regulations. That would be too small a case for a lawyer, but you can make a claim yourself by contacting the Dept. of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/

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Answered on 2/06/17, 8:33 am


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