Does my legal status prevents me from taking action against my employer
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Does my legal status prevents me from taking action against my employer
My records show that my employer has not
paid me properly.Iam owed a week’s pay
and the employer has no intention to pay
Asked on October 28, 2018 under Business Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If you are working here legally (e.g. on a visa or with a green card), you can take legal action against your employer for not being paid (either sue or bring a claim/complaint to the department of labor): the law enforces legal obligations, including to non-citizens. If you are not legally eligible to work, however, it is not clear that a court would be able to help you, since as a general matter, a court cannot order payment for something illegal (e.g. payment to someone who could not legally be paid wages or a salary in this country) and it is virtually certain that the department of labor would not assist you.
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