What can I do if my boss holding part of my income every check?
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What can I do if my boss holding part of my income every check?
I am given a W2 and 1099 from the same company. My boss decided to only give me partial salary check and has stopped giving me my 1099 pay check for the past 4 1/2 months. He
gave me a note on the first check when he started this that said, ‘I will pay you when the practice has money.’ Since then, he owes me a total of $8,000.00 that he hasn’t paid. There is
nothing written such as a contract. I have a 10 year of history of the same 1099 checks. I am not an owner or a partner.
Asked on March 29, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Your employer has no right to do this: legally, he must pay you in full when you do the work, not when it is convenient for his cash flow. You can file a wage and hour complaint for the unpaid employee (W2) wages with the state department of labor; they may be able to help you get that money. If they can't, you could sue him for it; you could also sue for unpaid 1099 wages--the labor department has no powere to help collect those, BUT note that it is almost impossible to conceive that the same employee could be simultaneously paid as an employee (W2) and independent contractor (1099) by the same employer: it is much more likely that you are entirely an employee and all your compensation should be on a W2 basis. That is something to discusa with the labor department and, if you have been mischaracterized and mispaid, that may be another component of a wage and hour complaint.
Act quickly: no mattet what your legal rights, you can't get money if there is none, and if the company is failing or the owner is pocketing and hiding funds, you don't want to wait until all the money is gone.
As a practical matter, you should probably also look for new emoloyment: either this business is in trouble or the owner is cheating you.
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