past employer will not pay me

[camcam316]

Recently I quit my job in Georgia and I went up to the store on pay day and my check was not there. I made 2 more attemps to get my check and they werent there. Finally, today I went up there again and the owner was up there and I asked him for my paycheck, he said he did not have it and would not say anymore. He owes me about $225.00. Tommorow im going to the court house to file a civil lawsuit. I couldn't pay my probation officer for this month due to no money, i couldnt make my credit card payment due to no money.

How much should I add on to this amount that he owes me? I also have no evidence that he owes me this much, but he knows for sure he owes me and he has a computer system to clock in there. An employee that works there said he would go to court to be my witness.

What should i do??

Thanks!

 

[presutin]

You can only claim the amount owed to you plus court costs.

 

[camcam316]

I couldn't make a credit card payment on time because he never paid me. He thinks hes allowed to hold a check for 6 months after an employee quits, but that is false. I have now credit card late fees.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[presutin]

No problem. Take the high road and find yourself a job that will appreciate your contributions to the success of the company you will be working for. Good Luck!

 

[camcam316]

Thanks, do you think the judge will tell him to pay me for what i worked for?

 

[presutin]

If you have enough evidence that you were there, the evidence will speak for itself.

 

[cbg]

Just to clarify one point;

Most (but not all) states, have a drop-dead date by which final pay must be released. It can be immediate or as late as three weeks after the last day of work, depending on the state.

Georgia is one of the very few states (I think there are only five) where there is no statute or case law regarding when final pay is due. As far as Georgia-specific law is concerned, he really could take six months to pay you.

However, Georgia law is not the only law. Although there is no Federal statute regarding the release of final pay either, common law indicates that in the absence of a specific law saying otherwise, final pay should be released no later than the next regular payday after the last day of work. While there is no statute supporting that, most courts would go by it. It is quite unlikely that any court would determine that waiting longer than that was reasonable.

You are doing the right thing in going through small claims. In many cases I'd suggest going through the state DOL, but Georgia's DOL is essentially toothless. You'll do better in small claims court.

I agree with the other responder that as long as you are able to show reasonable evidence that you worked, it is quite unlikely that a judge would rule against you. You won't get penalties and you won't get the late fees, but you'll get the pay that is due, plus court costs most likely.

 

[camcam316]

I dont have evidence that i worked except my work schedule, i dont take pictures of me walking into work everyday lol, but he knows he owes me money for working there.

 

[presutin]

Did you punch your time into some sort of time tracker? or time cards? That is the evidence along with your schedule. If you don't have the timecard or computer time tracker, then gather testimony from your coworkers to back up your case. Good Luck!

 

[camcam316]

what is testimony, a written statement? we do clock in, but we clock into the computers, so i dont have physical proof.

 

[cbg]

In most states (I don't know for sure about Georgia) you don't have to prove you did work; he has to prove you didn't.

Tell the court about the computer records even if you don't have copies.