Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida
Back Pay and Continued Non Payment of Wages
I work for a small company that informed all of the employees (10 total) that on Jan. 1, 2008, the company would no longer be able to make payroll until �the next deal is signed.� The boss keeps telling us by the end of the month, now it is the end of the second month.
Most of the employees are still doing work for the company to keep it afloat until �the next deal is signed�, however they are now collecting unemployment. Now the boss is refusing to accept timesheets for the minimal work that is being done by the team to keep the business going. He feels that since they are collecting unemployment, they should not be submitting time sheets, as there may a violation.
Not sure what to do next. Sue?--Can he be held personally liable for this money? Should we cease working, even though we feel it�s in the best interest to a least try and keep the company going until money comes in? When/(if) we get paid, then unemployment will not be filed for.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Back Pay and Continued Non Payment of Wages
Either you are employed or not. If you are not permitted to collect unemployment payments if you are employed. If you are employed and shoukd be getting paid but are not, then you can sue for your pay. If you are employed and it is somehow contingent on the next deal, I am not sure that is even legal. Sounds like you need to find a new job since the one that you may or may not have is not producing a paycheck and there does not seem to be a reasonable chance that it will be doing so.
Re: Back Pay and Continued Non Payment of Wages
Under the unemployment laws, there is such a thing as being "part employed" which means that you have employment but are receiving less than the amount you would receive as unemployment compensation benefits. Under this scenario, you would be entitled to the difference between what you are earning and what unemployment would pay. In your case, since you are receiving nothing this amount is the entire unemployment compensation benefit.
The sticky part comes in when and if your employer makes good on his promise to compensate you when the next deal comes in. This will likely lead to an overpayment situation and the UAC will be seeking to recover all of what it paid you.
How you decide to proceed is more of a personal choice than a legal issue. You can always sue for unpaid wages. Sometimes the employer can be held individually responsible. If you prevail in such a claim, you can be entitled to have your attorney's fees paid. If you wish to discuss this matter further, you should contact a lawyer. If you choose to contact our firm, mention LawGuru and we will waive our usual consultation fee.
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