Unpaid wages/retaliation wrongful termination possible case? Or should I give up?

S

seekinglegaladvice20

New Member
Jurisdiction
New Jersey
I am located in NJ trying to figure out why no one is willing to represent me and what my next steps should be.

Timeline of Events:

  • Oct 2023: Notified employer I was not being paid. No wages received for October despite repeated communication.
  • Nov–Dec 2023: Continued unpaid wages; ongoing communication with employer. Financial hardship results, including being locked out of my apartment.
  • Feb 9, 2024: Received a check for some of the owed wages. Contacted payroll to confirm if the check was valid; employer confirmed it was part of unpaid wages.
  • Feb 16, 2024: Check bounced. Employer claimed it was an accidental double payment, though they still owed me funds.
  • Feb 22, 2024: Terminated for alleged harassment after following up about unpaid wages.
  • Oct 2024: Obtained civil judgment for $3,087.75, but funds have not been received.


Current Action: Seeking legal advice regarding retaliation, emotional distress, and enforcement of awarded wages.
 
Timeline of Events:

Am I able to sue since it's been almost 2 years since this issue began and it still hasn't been resolved? Any suggested law firms pro bono or who will only charge if the case is won? Can't find anyone to represent me not sure
  • Oct 2023: Notified employer I was not being paid. No wages received for October despite repeated communication.
  • Nov–Dec 2023: Continued unpaid wages; ongoing communication with employer. Financial hardship results, including being locked out of my apartment.
  • Feb 9, 2024: Received a check for some of the owed wages. Contacted payroll to confirm if the check was valid; employer confirmed it was part of unpaid wages.
  • Feb 16, 2024: Check bounced. Employer claimed it was an accidental double payment, though they still owed me funds.
  • Feb 22, 2024: Terminated for alleged harassment after following up about unpaid wages.
  • Oct 2024: Obtained civil judgment for $3,087.75, but funds have not been received.


Current Action: Seeking legal advice regarding retaliation, emotional distress, and enforcement of awarded wages.
 
seekinglegaladvice20 said:
Current Action: Seeking legal advice regarding retaliation, emotional distress, and enforcement of awarded wages.
Click to expand...


This is what you MIGHT find useful to you in your quest to receive what is owed to you!!!!!!!


If you work in New Jersey and believe that your employer has not properly paid you, or if you have a complaint against an employer for violating a New Jersey Labor Law enforced by the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance, you may file a wage complaint by following the guidelines on this page.

Visit our online portal to file a complaint online.

You can begin the process by filing your issue online:

Phone: (609) 292-2305
Fax: (609) 695-1174
Email: wage.hour@dol.nj.gov

New Jersey Division of Wage and Hour Compliance - Online Services


Wage & Hour Compliance | Contact Us

Contact Us
www.nj.gov
 
You're not going to get emotional damage or retaliation. You might get unpaid wages. But I suspect you may have waited too long to interest any attorney.
 
What cbg said is why you aren't getting anybody to represent you.

You could have avoided all this by filing for unemployment compensation in October 2023.

I have always been of the opinion that no pay equals constructive termination.
 
seekinglegaladvice20 said:
Oct 2024: Obtained civil judgment for $3,087.75, but funds have not been received.
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I assume that this judgment was for the unpaid wages you are owed. If so, it's too late to go back to add more claims to that lawsuit that are connected to or arise from the same cause of action. Everything you've mentioned are all connected to your efforts to get paid and your employer's resistance to paying you what you were owed. Now you need to enforce that judgment. The employer isn't going to pay if you simply show up at the place of employment, demand payment, and waive a copy of the judgment in front. Your employer's past actions are a pretty clear indication of that. So use that judgment to hit the employer's bank accounts, any accounts receivable, and other assets of the employer. If you don't get all the money the first time, wait for whatever period of time your state requires, if any, and then hit the accounts again. Once you start going after assets your employer, if he's got any smarts at all, will just pay you what you are owed. Otherwise all the fees you pay to collect and interest on the judgment will keep getting added to what he owes. It's cheaper to just pay you and have you go away.
 
cbg said:
You're not going to get emotional damage or retaliation. You might get unpaid wages. But I suspect you may have waited too long to interest any attorney.
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I've been trying since last year prior to even going to court. No one was willing to represent me and I don't know why exactly. But thank you for the enlightenment that may be the case I've waited too long.
 
Tax Counsel said:
I assume that this judgment was for the unpaid wages you are owed. If so, it's too late to go back to add more claims to that lawsuit that are connected to or arise from the same cause of action. Everything you've mentioned are all connected to your efforts to get paid and your employer's resistance to paying you what you were owed. Now you need to enforce that judgment. The employer isn't going to pay if you simply show up at the place of employment, demand payment, and waive a copy of the judgment in front. Your employer's past actions are a pretty clear indication of that. So use that judgment to hit the employer's bank accounts, any accounts receivable, and other assets of the employer. If you don't get all the money the first time, wait for whatever period of time your state requires, if any, and then hit the accounts again. Once you start going after assets your employer, if he's got any smarts at all, will just pay you what you are owed. Otherwise all the fees you pay to collect and interest on the judgment will keep getting added to what he owes. It's cheaper to just pay you and have you go away.
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So basically this will be resolved no time soon, this was my first time experiencing something like this so I wasn't aware. I had no knowledge of a writ of execution, I assumed if we the opposing party did not show they would lose automatically and be forced to pay me. I didn't want to go through the superior court again I was trying to lawyer up for those additional things so would this still be considered adding more to the claim?

Thank you for your response I appreciate it
 
seekinglegaladvice20 said:
So basically this will be resolved no time soon, this was my first time experiencing something like this so I wasn't aware. I had no knowledge of a writ of execution, I assumed if we the opposing party did not show they would lose automatically and be forced to pay me. I didn't want to go through the superior court again I was trying to lawyer up for those additional things so would this still be considered adding more to the claim?

Thank you for your response I appreciate it
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Also the NJ wage theft act has a statue of limitation of 6 years for retaliation claims



  • NJ Wage Theft Act
 
adjusterjack said:
What cbg said is why you aren't getting anybody to represent you.

You could have avoided all this by filing for unemployment compensation in October 2023.

I have always been of the opinion that no pay equals constructive termination.
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I am not asking advice in the past tense I obviously wasn't aware that I could do that I'm not a lawyer or dealt with similar issues before so please stop telling me what I could have done in the past because it cannot be of help today. Thank you
 
You've already litigated the matter and received a judgment. Now, enforce the judgment.

A big reason (but not the only reason) no attorney was willing to represent you is that it's too small of an amount.
 
You already have a judgment, so just enforce it. Given the small amount of your judgment, you aren't going to find an attorney to do it on contingency, and paying a lawyer's hourly rate isn't practical.
 

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