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Employee Was Never Paid
My question involves employment and labor law for the state of: New Jersey
Hello everyone, hopefully someone can help me out a bit. I am 17 years old for the record. I lifeguarded at a Gold's Gym pool from December 2011 to January 2012 and was never paid for my work. After the first three weeks in December, it was winter break. I was told I have to work everyday that week (which included overtime) and at the end of the week I would be paid. I was never paid, and quit the following week. I started a wage claim with the department of labor the week after I quit. That took quite a bit of time to get started, but about a month ago I was told the investigation was over and they ruled in my favor.
However, they said they can only rule in my favor but not actually force them to give me the money. I am still in the middle of seeing whether they have sent the money or not (it has to go to the state to get taxes taken out, then it gets sent to me). I have to call someone in Trenton tomorrow to see if that process has started. Im assuming they didnt send the check which is why Im writing this to see what I should do next.
So, really, any advice will greatly help me. I really have no idea what to do next. Am I able to go to small claims court? Or would I go to civil court? Most importantly, would I need a lawyer? Also, any chance I could get more money than Im owed, if I asked? Apart from them not ever paying me despite Dept. of Labor ruling in my favor, Im almost positive they broke a few child labor laws. I never received a break the entire time I worked there. Generally I worked 7 hour shifts (3-10), but during winter break I worked 10 hour shifts and 12 hour shifts, which started at 5:30 in the morning. Also, this exact same thing happened to the previous lifeguard that worked before me. He only worked 1 or 2 weeks and I think he just quit and let it go. I worked about 100 hours or so, and they owe me $1000 so I dont want to let this go.
I was also talking to a friend who is in law school, he was saying its even possible to sue for punitive damages for like $50,000. I could end up suing the franchise of Gold's Gym or something. He also said that if I went that far with it, Gold's Gym might just get really good lawyers and draw it out for a long time and Ill wind up with nothing. Obviously, this is all a long shot, but is it at all possible?
Please, ANY advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. I just want to be finally done with this. Thank you:)
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Re: Was Never Paid
Small claims court is your best bet. You may have to have a parent or guardian file a claim on your behalf, but other than that, you won't need representation. Make sure you add your court costs to the claim.
You could try and sue for punitive damages but your friend is right, it will take a loooooong time (think three+ years) to get any result. And there's at least a 50/50 chance the result would not be in your favour. And you'll have to pay an attorney to see you through the whole process. So there's a good chance you'll end up out of pocket at least a few thousand dollars.
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Re: Was Never Paid
In many, if not most, similarly situated circumstances, the offending employer “sends the check” at this juncture. The employer does not want to incur additional interest and/or penalties by delaying payment after a determination has been made it violated the state wage payment law.
On a related note, what did the state department of labor representatives calculate was the amount owed to you? Did these representatives factor in the overtime?
With respect to your law school friend’s advice, he or she is probably off base. Without researching it, I would suspect the NJ wage collection statute provides for double or treble damages, interest, statutory penalties and/or attorney’s fees. In contrast, the statute likely does not provide for punitive damages. While an intrepid local employment law attorney may be able to plead a parallel tort cause of action on your behalf, it is far from clear that such a claim could be advanced here.
If the state representatives have calculated your lost wages correctly (e.g., factored in overtime) and they have sought the maximum amount due you under the state wage collection law, it may be best for you to allow the administrative process to play itself out. In contrast, if they have not done so, it may behoove you to contact a local employment lawyer who has handled wage collection claims in the past.