My boss was paying me with a personal check; is that legal? Many of us know that getting paid under the table is illegal – both the employer and the employee can find themselves in trouble if they are audited. If you are used to getting paid through a company check (like what is common), suddenly getting paid with a personal check might feel wrong – it might even feel illegal.
Here at California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group, we have received some of the following questions:
- My employer was paying me with a personal check; is that legal?
- My manager was paying me with a personal check: is that illegal?
- Can I sue if my former boss paid me with personal checks?
- What are my rights based on California law?
If you have found yourself asking any of the questions listed above, you should really consider reaching out to the guys here at California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group as soon as possible. Our lawyers are ready to help you understand your rights based on employment law and help you recover the compensation that you are owed. If you are ready to explore your legal options and discuss your right to sue with the experts at our law firm, contact us today. We are ready to help you.
Is Getting Paid with a Personal Check Illegal?
In California, there is no law that establishes that your pay should come from a specific account, like a company account. Therefore, it is legal to be paid with a personal check from a personal bank account. However, paying employees with personal checks is definitely not the norm. In fact, it is likely that getting paid with a personal check is actually a sign that something illegal is actually going on – even if the personal check itself is legal.
Getting paid with a personal check could be a sign of employment violations, which could include not giving employees itemized paystubs and even misclassifying employees.
Consider the following.
California’s employment law requires that employers provide their employees with itemized paystubs, regardless of how the employer is paying the employee. The itemized paystub must include the following information: employee name and last four digits of SSN or EIN; the pay period; gross wages; total hours worked; a breakdown of regular hours vs. overtime hours; deductions (including tax withholdings, 401k contributions, and other deductions); net wages; the name/address of the employer; the total amount of sick leave and vacation days that the employee has accrued. Unfortunately, employers that don’t provide paystubs can get away with not paying their employees what they are owed for the hours that they worked. Because of the lack of a paystub, employees can’t really prove anything.
Misclassification occurs when an employer classifies an employee as an independent contractor rather than an employee to avoid paying payroll taxes, minimum wage, overtime, providing meal periods/rest breaks, and complying with other wage and hour laws, for instance. Misclassification is, unfortunately, very common. When an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor, he or she will miss out on important protections and rights. Were you misclassified? If you do not submit invoices to get paid, have to report to a supervisor or a boss, are subject to a specific work schedule, use company equipment (including computers and email addresses), then you are more likely to be an employee misclassified as an independent contractor.
Can I File a Lawsuit?
My place of work was paying me with a personal check; is that illegal? Do I have a case if my former boss paid me with a personal check? Although you cannot take action against a former employer or current employer if you were paid with a personal check, you could take action if you were not provided with itemized paystubs or if you were misclassified as an independent contractor even if you’re actually an employee.
Depending on the specific details surrounding your situation, you could have grounds to file a wage and hour lawsuit or a misclassification lawsuit against your former employer. If you are unsure of your rights to file a lawsuit, do not hesitate to contact the experts here at our law firm as soon as possible. Our lawyers can help you understand your legal options and help you start the legal process against the employer violating employment laws.
What Could You Recover?
If you decide to file an employment lawsuit for wage and hour violations or misclassification, you could be entitled to recover monetary compensation. Although every employment claim is different, you could be entitled to recover compensation for some of the following:
- Back pay
- Unpaid overtime
- Lost benefits
- Punitive damages
- Legal fees
If you are unsure of what you could recover if your employment lawsuit is successful, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our law firm immediately. Our lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and help you understand your right to sue and recover a fair payout. You can trust that our lawyers will ensure that you recover the highest settlement available for your employment claim.
Contact California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group Today
If you are ready to explore the legal options available to you, do not hesitate to contact the experts here at our law firm as soon as possible. Our lawyers here at California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group have years of experience and are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to sue your former employer and recover the payout that you are owed. To make the legal process as simple as possible for you, we offer free legal services which include free consultations and free second opinions. Our experts will provide you with all the information that you need to start or continue your claim.
We are proud to offer a Zero-Fee guarantee, meaning that our lawyers will not be required to pay upfront legal fees for our legal services. Because we work on contingency, our clients will not be required to pay any legal fees until after reaching a positive claim outcome. If you don’t win, you won’t pay anything.
If you are ready to speak with our employment attorneys, contact us today.
