Legal Question in Employment Law in Maryland

Not paid by the employers for 6 months

My wife started working for a company in Baltimore, MD in January 2000. She had a Student Practical training work permit from the INS (Imm. and Nat. Service). The company applied for an H-1B work visa for her. The visa processing took longer than expected. In the meantime, my wife's work permit expired in March 2000 (though her status was legal 'cuz her work visa application was with INS). When my wife's student permit expired, her name was removed from the payroll for legal purposes. She continued to work for the firm with the promise that she would be paid all dues once the visa application was approved. Our relocation expenses, which were promised to when starting the job, were also not paid because of this reason. INS took longer to approve the visa than normal. The visa was finally approved at the end of September 2000. She was put back on payroll from october 2000 onwards. She was promised that she would be paid for March-Sept in the form of year-end bonus. The year-end came and has gone by but the money has not been paid despite numerous reminders. We are trying to find out what our legal options have in this case to get the money from her employer.

thanks


Asked on 5/24/01, 6:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Holzman Holzman Law Firm, LLC

Re: Not paid by the employers for 6 months

Something is not right about the facts that you have recited. Unfortunately, I would need to know a bit more of the facts in order to make a determination. In general, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Maryland Wage and Hours law require that wages/salary be paid at least twice per month. If they are not paid, then punitive damages may be available.

I cannot tell from your facts whether the immigration issues offer any safe harbor for the employer. It seems to me that if the employer had concerns about immigration status, the employer's duty/right was to terminate and/or suspend the employment -- but not to continue to accept the benefit of the employment without paying for it. There must be other facts here that I'm not considering. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience and we'll make an appointment ot talk in the office about this matter.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

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Answered on 6/24/01, 1:11 pm


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