Legal Question in Business Law in Texas

Re: past job verification

You may have to do some digging and locate your past bosses from those bankrupt businesses. W-2s only show that you worked for a particular business, and what you earned that year.

There's no easy answer to your question, and the personnel folders probably went into the shredder when the business folded.

Re: past job verification

Generally, proof under these circumstances is a matter of common sense. You already have said that the W-2 was not enough. Here are some extra items and categories of proof that you might consider:

1. Photographs: Eg. the premises of the old employer, equipment, you at work, or you in next to your car in their parking lot, or whatever other photographs exist.

2. Brochures, advertisements, catalogs, etc.

3. Reports, employee handbooks, manuals and the like, that rightfully are in your possession. It would not be smart to show reports which were supposed to be private.

4. Letters and correspondence that related to the job.

5. Do an internet search for your old supervisor, and get letters and/or affidavits from him.

6. Customer letters: Get a letter from a satisfied customer with whom you dealt with in the old company.

The list could go on and on. While one single item such as the W-2 form might not be sufficient, all of the items included in a neatly bound book with an appropriate descriptive title and a table of contents, and with your explanatory comments interspersed in the appropriate places should be convincing.

If after all of this your employer does not want to accept your proof, it probably means that he is looking for an excuse not to have to pay you at a higher rate. Texas is an at-will employment state where the employer basicly can do what he wants, absent some type of special employment agreement, or unlawful discrimination based upon race, religion, etc.

Good Luck!