Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey

My son worked at a restaurant. He started in August, 2009. His 1st check bounced. He told the owner who gave him the cash. His next 4 checks bounced. (They are still holding 2 more checks that they should have, but have never given him) His boss told him just deposit them & wait. He would get the money for the checks. This never happened. Dec, 2009 we talked to the owner who told us he would do what he could but he was going to have to file bankruptcy.

In Dec. 2009, we filed a claim with the Dept of Labor. They told us they could not help because this was a bankruptcy case.

We also filed a police report with the local police, who told us there is nothing they can do, but advised us to send certified letters to the owners requesting his money. This we did. We had 4 addresses for them. We sent 4 letters. 3 came back to us-refused. One did not come back, but we also did not get the delivery confirmation back from the post office either.

In Feb., 2010 my son received a W2 statement saying he had earned $5,000.00 on this job. (He has only received about $400.00)

1. What can my son do? Is there anything he can do to get the money that he worked hard for and earned but did not receive?

2. Can he sue these owners for giving him those bad checks?

3. Can he sue them for giving him the checks when they had already filed bankruptcy and probably had no intention to pay him?

4. Will my son have to pay taxes on this money?


Asked on 2/14/10, 2:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

Your son would be best served by having a business lawyer who will understand the bankruptcy implications review the situation and look over the bankruptcy petition. For example, if some of the wages were earned after the bankruptcy petition was filed, they may not be affected by the bankruptcy. Only a close examination of the facts can tell.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 2/21/10, 7:12 am


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