Legal Question in Employment Law in New York
Back Pay Due
On pay day I was told by my company that they can't meet payroll because they are waiting for money to come in from the state. I happen to work for a private college. They also said they weren't sure if I will be paid next week or not. They explained that nobody in the college was going to be paid so I shouldn't feel bad about it. To make matters worse, they still owe me money from a raise that was supposed to be retroactive from Oct. 2006, but I haven't seen anything yet. I'm not sure if I should warn them first that I will be hiring an attorney or should I keep that to myself and just serve them with papers? And how does it work since I am still working for them? By the way, I work part time..approx. 20 -22 hours a week if that makes any difference. Should I just file a claim on my own? In the end, would I be able to have them cover my attorney's fees?
Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Back Pay Due
You don't need to sue over back pay. Just call the State Labor board and complain and they will take it from there. It is a crime not to pay employee wages.
Do not bother with the attorney. Unless you are owed a substantial amount of money (think 25k+ an attorney probably won't take the case and even then I would check to be sure he was all there.
You can get the form you need to fill out by going to this web address:
http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/laborstandards/PDFs/LS223.PDF
Good luck.
Re: Back Pay Due
You can file a complaint with the Department of Labor which will be investigated, or retain an attorney, which will cost more, but enable you to commence an action.
You will likely have to cover your own attorneys fees unless you have an agreement to the contrary.
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