refuse to pay me unpaid salary from former employer

[15132877 0]

Hey everyone,

I called couple of lawyers in NYC, they all want to charge me. I'm not able to afford the charge currently. so can anyone help me with the answer, please?

Thanks a lot.

This staffing agency in Midtown Manhattan has found an temperate Executive Assistant position at this corporation on July 2008. However, I've never received my payment.

The situation is:

When I submitting my application and resume to this staffing company, I did not have SSN nor the authorized work permit. However, I was in the process of getting my work visa. I was told by my lawyer I'm getting it soon. So I went to this staffing company told them my situation (no SSN), and they still let me fill out the application form and went ahead looking for a job for me without SSN & authorized work permit (This staffing company does not check people's legal work status, maybe I should report this agency to IRS or Immigration). I earned my position as an Executive Assistant at this corporation in Manhattan.

I had worked there for 9 days 2008. I have not been paid because I didn't have SSN. However, the staffing agency (the president) agreed to pay me when I have a valid SSN.

Now I'm a legal Green Card holder(2 years conditional GC), recently received. I've tried to reach the staffing agency, emailed, called. They never responded to me. I know for fact that corporation I've worked for 9 days paid my wage to the agency. Finally, I called and talked to the President of the agency on July 28th . She refused to pay me. And then I said to her " I consulted with my lawyer and I should get my payment from you, you should give me my payment." Suddenly, she changed her nasty tone to nicer tone, and said " ok, I will check with mine, call me on Monday (Aug 1st)." However, I have not call her yet, because I'm doing research to make sure what to say if she still refuse to pay me.

My questions are:

• Am I eligible to collect my unpaid payment? ( I know that employees are able to collect unpaid payment with 6 years in the United States by law.)
  
• Is that legal for her to keep my payment to herself, even though I wasn't eligible to work back then without SSN? (As far as I know, it is not legal, also not legal for her to hire anyone who are not authorized to work.)
  
• Would I jeopardize myself from getting 10 years Green Card / become citizen if I file a lawsuit or call Immigration / IRS on this staffing agency in order to receive my payment?
  

I'd appreciate if any employment / immigration lawyers here could give me some legal advice.

Thank you very much

Mia

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

***** Duplicate topic removed *****

We are not here to give official legal advice.

Considering the work period was 3 years ago, I am not sure you can get the money. For 9 days work, consulting a lawyer/ filing a lawsuit will likely be more expensive than any money you'd be entitled to. Whether filing a lawsuit/ it becoming apparent that you worked illegally would jeopardise your immigration status would depend how you got your current greencard.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Hey everyone,

I called couple of lawyers in NYC, they all want to charge me. I'm not able to afford the charge currently. so can anyone help me with the answer, please?

Thanks a lot.

This staffing agency in Midtown Manhattan has found an temperate Executive Assistant position at this corporation on July 2008. However, I've never received my payment.

The situation is:

When I submitting my application and resume to this staffing company, I did not have SSN nor the authorized work permit. However, I was in the process of getting my work visa. I was told by my lawyer I'm getting it soon. So I went to this staffing company told them my situation (no SSN), and they still let me fill out the application form and went ahead looking for a job for me without SSN & authorized work permit (This staffing company does not check people's legal work status, maybe I should report this agency to IRS or Immigration). I earned my position as an Executive Assistant at this corporation in Manhattan.

I had worked there for 9 days 2008. I have not been paid because I didn't have SSN. However, the staffing agency (the president) agreed to pay me when I have a valid SSN.

Now I'm a legal Green Card holder(2 years conditional GC), recently received. I've tried to reach the staffing agency, emailed, called. They never responded to me. I know for fact that corporation I've worked for 9 days paid my wage to the agency. Finally, I called and talked to the President of the agency on July 28th . She refused to pay me. And then I said to her " I consulted with my lawyer and I should get my payment from you, you should give me my payment." Suddenly, she changed her nasty tone to nicer tone, and said " ok, I will check with mine, call me on Monday (Aug 1st)." However, I have not call her yet, because I'm doing research to make sure what to say if she still refuse to pay me.

My questions are:

• Am I eligible to collect my unpaid payment? ( I know that employees are able to collect unpaid payment with 6 years in the United States by law.)
  
• Is that legal for her to keep my payment to herself, even though I wasn't eligible to work back then without SSN? (As far as I know, it is not legal, also not legal for her to hire anyone who are not authorized to work.)
  
• Would I jeopardize myself from getting 10 years Green Card / become citizen if I file a lawsuit or call Immigration / IRS on this staffing agency in order to receive my payment?
  

I'd appreciate if any employment / immigration lawyers here could give me some legal advice.

Thank you very much

Mia

If you want a lawyer to help you, you will have to pay. There are no free lawyers on this site that I am aware of. Everyone here is like you, trying to educate themselves on different immigration issues.

You are in a very tricky situation. You want to get pay for illegal work (working without the proper authorization). You are entitled to the pay. You can file a small claims court for the pay. However, you risk USCIS finding out that you worked illegally. This is not good for keeping your green card. You will have to decide if getting paid for those 9 days worth putting your LPR status at risk.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

File a complaint with the state labor board, and see where that takes you. Each state has different rules, so you may, or may not be past the statute of limitations, generally three years for a wage claim.

ETA: Legal status should not effect your claim.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Crusty Old Perv

[Harsh_77 718]

While you were working or within short time from your stint did u ever get your SSN or permit to work?

If you worked for 9 days in 2008 and you just received your GC in 2011, means you were not supposed to work nor the company was supposed to hire you for 9 days that you worked for them.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

You will fail in court.

You had an illegal contract or agreement to work. Since you were not able to legally work no court can enforce your illegal agreement and for a company to pay you money which you can't legally collect.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

You will fail in court.

You had an illegal contract or agreement to work. Since you were not able to legally work no court can enforce your illegal agreement and for a company to pay you money which you can't legally collect.

Not true. It would be unfair for employers to exploit illegal workers and not be held legally liable to pay them. This amounts to slave labor at the very worst or an incentive to exploit vulnerable people at the very least.

The employer is also part of the "illegal contract." If the employer doesn't have to pay, doesn't he come out ahead on the illegal contract? Should the employer get the benefit of free labor? That's unfair.

Here are cases of illegal workers suing for or winning cases for back pay;

http://www.themonitor.com/news/weslaco-53416-workers-alamo.html

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/iteam/iteam-illegal-workers-win-20110511-es

If the OP can prove that he worked those nine days, he could certainly win in court.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Jojo92122

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Not true. It would be unfair for employers to exploit illegal workers and not be held legally liable to pay them. This amounts to slave labor at the very worst or an incentive to exploit vulnerable people at the very least.

The employer is also part of the "illegal contract." If the employer doesn't have to pay, doesn't he come out ahead on the illegal contract? Should the employer get the benefit of free labor? That's unfair.

If the OP can prove that he worked those nine days, he could certainly win in court.

While I agree with your point about the unfair enrichment of the employer and I can't argue with links about illegals winning such cases it does go against a couple of legal concepts.

The first I already mentioned, a court can not enforce an illegal contract. For example if a drug dealer sells someone enriched flour they can't sure to get their money back even though the drug dealer was unfairly enriched and received benefit from the illegal sales contract {agreement/transaction}.

The second is "Unclean hands" which basically means that if your hands are dirtied by knowingly participating in an illegal act then you don't have legal ground to sue if the outcome isn't as you expected.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

While I agree with your point about the unfair enrichment of the employer and I can't argue with links about illegals winning such cases it does go against a couple of legal concepts.

The first I already mentioned, a court can not enforce an illegal contract. For example if a drug dealer sells someone enriched flour they can't sure to get their money back even though the drug dealer was unfairly enriched and received benefit from the illegal sales contract {agreement/transaction}.

The second is "Unclean hands" which basically means that if your hands are dirtied by knowingly participating in an illegal act then you don't have legal ground to sue if the outcome isn't as you expected.

There is a vast difference in working illegally and drug dealing. Working illegally is a civil matter. Drug dealing is a criminal matter.

State and federal courts are also courts of equity. In a civil matter like wage dispute, the court will apply the concept of fairness in determining the outcome. While it is illegal for a person without work authorization to work, it is also illegal for an employer not to pay at least the minimum wage. So when two laws on point conflicts, the court can use it's equity powers to order the employer to pay back wages.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Jojo92122

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

There is a vast difference in working illegally and drug dealing. Working illegally is a civil matter. Drug dealing is a criminal matter.

State and federal courts are also courts of equity. In a civil matter like wage dispute, the court will apply the concept of fairness in determining the outcome. While it is illegal for a person without work authorization to work, it is also illegal not to pay at least the minimum wage. So when two laws on point conflicts, the court can use it's equity powers to order the employer to pay back wages.

Ok, then I'll go with another civil matter as a comparison:

If I rent an illegal apartment and refuse to pay rent the landlord can't sue me for unpaid rent nor can I sue to recover rent paid for the illegal apartment. On the flip-side the landlord still is required to evict me which is a process that can take several months in most states.

The reason the landlord can't sue me for the unpaid rent is because under the law the landlord has no right to collect the rent therefore there is nothing for the court to enforce if they can't enforce the illegal contract.

Personally I think employing illegals should get a business shut down an the illegals should have no recourse to collect wages therefore both sides are punished for their illegal activities.

Again, I am not tryin to argue with your links that it has been successfully sued for, just saying that the concept doesn't make sense.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Ok, then I'll go with another civil matter as a comparison:

If I rent an illegal apartment and refuse to pay rent the landlord can't sue me for unpaid rent nor can I sue to recover rent paid for the illegal apartment. On the flip-side the landlord still is required to evict me which is a process that can take several months in most states.

The reason the landlord can't sue me for the unpaid rent is because under the law the landlord has no right to collect the rent therefore there is nothing for the court to enforce if they can't enforce the illegal contract.

Personally I think employing illegals should get a business shut down an the illegals should have no recourse to collect wages therefore both sides are punished for their illegal activities.

Again, I am not tryin to argue with your links that it has been successfully sued for, just saying that the concept doesn't make sense.

An employer not paying wages is enriched by not having to part with his money. A landlord who is not getting illegal rent is not enriched. This difference is why the court would order payment of wages for illegal work, but not order payment of rent for an illegal apartment.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

I think we will continue to disagree on this. This discussion has been a good presentation on both sides - whether an employer should have to pay for "illegal work."

The bigger issue in my opinion is that does the OP want to risk his green card status by creating a legal record where he admits to working without authorization. Even if he wins the wage case, he could still lose.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The bigger issue in my opinion is that does the OP want to risk his green card status by creating a legal record where he admits to working without authorization. Even if he wins the wage case, he could still lose.

Of course, we would not be counseling any person not to fully disclose information when required on any immigration form, or when asked directly by any government agency as required by law.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Of course, we would not be counseling any person not to fully disclose information when required on any immigration form, or when asked directly by any government agency as required by law.

Not counseling anyone to do anything. Just making a point that a court case on the back wage would require an admission of working without authorization and there would be a legal record of it.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

An employer not paying wages is enriched by not having to part with his money. A landlord who is not getting illegal rent is not enriched. This difference is why the court would order payment of wages for illegal work, but not order payment of rent for an illegal apartment.

But the tenant is enriched by not having to part with their money for the rent so it is more similar...

I agree that we probably won't agree on which is right and I'm not trying to argue with you.