What to Do If Your Employer Just Stops Paying You
You may have a great job, love your coworkers, and get along with everyone, but these things do not provide a stable paycheck. If your employer suddenly stops paying you, either with a promise to pay you back later or without any explanation, you are eligible. Here’s what you need to know.
The answer may not be as simple as it sounds: you love your job and all you want is to get paid for your work so you can keep working. Of course, you can always quit smoking, but then you will be left without money and without a job, so this is not a very tempting opportunity, is it?
It’s easy to just say “threaten to quit / quit / sue”, but the real world is more complex. Maybe you complained and your boss wrote you a check for some of your debt, but it happened again. Maybe this happened for the first time, or everyone else was in the same boat with you.
To identify all of these possibilities and find out what is best to do, we sat down with an expert who has worked on similar cases before: labor law expert and attorney Elizabeth Unrath.
Your employer is illegally not paying wages for hours worked.
This situation is actually much more common than you might think. Whether it’s an office worker receiving a salary, an intern who has been promised a stipend and doesn’t get it, or a waiter who collects his tip but never really gets his extra salary, this happens all the time.
In any situation, it is important to know that it is illegal for an employer not to pay you wages for the work you have done.
Unrath explained that your employer can’t just brush you off, and they can’t just promise to pay you when they get to it or something “gets better.” She noted that you need to get personal contact information for everyone you can and contact your state’s Employment Development Department for information on applying for unemployment benefits.
You should also contact your state Department of Labor office to initiate an investigation .
If you don’t think the money is coming, give it up now
Most people’s instinct is to just quit smoking, and that’s okay.
According to Unrath, you’d better spend your time and energy looking for someone to work for and who will pay you, than to work for free for someone who doesn’t. The problem is, one might easily think, “Well, at least I have a job. If I left, then I won’t have any job, no money, and what good will it be? ” Unrath explained:
My first piece of advice to an employee: yes, you should quit and spend time looking for a new job, not work for free. However, I have found that most employees are reluctant to do this. They like their job, they like their employer, and they feel some loyalty to the company. And that’s great, but if your company can’t pay salaries, that’s a bad sign for the future.
Whatever the reason for your reluctance to leave, try to overcome it and look at the economics of the situation. You work for free, your bills pile up, and you trust people who no longer pay you to sort things out while you wait patiently. If this all sounds bad, it is because it is.
Worst of all, even if the company manages to get the payroll done and get you back all your debts, the situation is still bad news. Even if they later cheer you on with promises or bonuses, you should be concerned. This “again-again-again-again” relationship almost never works in large companies, but it can often be found in startups that rely on funding rounds and angel investments for paychecks.
If you believe in your job, or love it enough to want to stay with the company through tough times, this is one thing. However, if the closet is empty, love of work will not fill it with food.
If you decide to take your time, here’s what to do.
While quitting smoking is probably the best option for most people, some people find it difficult. If you do decide to stay, even for a short time, there are a few things you need to do:
Talk to your boss honestly and seriously.
If you intend to stay even long enough to allow them to pay you, talk frankly with your boss about what is going on and what you can expect. Understand your money situation and insist on honesty. If they can’t match you, leave.
Unrath suggested asking direct questions like the following:
- When will i get money?
- What vacancies have we signed up for?
- How are you going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again with employees?
“If your employer is not ready and willing to answer these questions, you have no reason to keep working for free,” she said. “On the other hand, I know employees who were in this situation, and they were told:“ We have a contract with this client for the next month, we just need to sign it for a couple more weeks, and everything will be fine, ”and then paid … bonus for trouble. “
You will have to call according to your situation. If you do get an acceptable response from your employer, decide how long you want to stick with it and keep your employer at his word. “Make sure you are a polite pest every day in your boss’s office to get your paycheck,” Unrath said. “And don’t be afraid to climb the hierarchy. After all, what is the worst thing they can do – fire you from a job you don’t get paid for? “
Refresh your resume anyway
If you do decide to stay, this is still a good time to update your resume and social media profiles and let them know you’re ready to talk about new opportunities.
Even if you walk into the office hoping that things are getting better, you should also act after hours as if the company is closing or about to be fired. Start interviewing, schedule coffee conversations, and reach out to your professional community.
You might even want to know if your employer’s competitors have any opportunities. After all, you will appreciate having scheduled interviews or a job offer in your pocket if you walk into work one morning and find everything is locked up and your coworkers outside looking embarrassed.
Look for real major changes
Even if you decide to stay, and even if your employer pays you later, watch for systemic significant changes in the company. Someone at the top needs to be fired for this, and some major changes need to happen to make sure it doesn’t happen again (and the people who let it happen won’t end up in that position anymore). If you do not see such changes, leave.
If you have to stick to it because you believe in the job or the company, don’t let that belief extend to the people who got you into this mess. New investments and new customers usually come with time constraints, promises of performance and results. If your company doesn’t take steps to protect itself and its employees, as soon as you miss a result, run out of investment money, or lose a client, you are immediately back where you started.
Again, our first and best advice is to quit smoking and spend your time looking for someone who can pay you for the work you do. If you do decide to stay there, for whatever reason, we hope these tips will help you decide where your faith limits really are and make an intelligent decision about whether you should endure it or pack your bags.
This article was originally published in April 2013 and was updated in June 2015. It was last updated on March 9, 2020 by Lisa Rowan. Updates include the following: Checked links for accuracy and added new relevant links; updated formatting to reflect the current style; function image changed and additional images removed; updated Unrath’s experience and summarized some of her advice.