Problem with the employer

J

Jersey_kishore

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

Sorry for posting this in the wrong discussion group. I didn't see any other appropriate group to post this Q.


I am on H1. My employer is not paying in time ( He is giving paystubs once for 2 months, like 3,4 paystubs together. But the dates on the pay stubs are proper. dates on all the paystubs are how it is supposed to be). I don't know how he is managing.

My Question is

Can I fight legally on this? Can I quit this job? He is going to ask me the employement and relocation charges if I quit. Can this be a legal reason to quit and avoid employement charges if he goes legally.
 
I am on H1. My employer is not paying in time ( He is giving paystubs once for 2 months, like 3,4 paystubs together. But the dates on the pay stubs are proper. dates on all the paystubs are how it is supposed to be). I don't know how he is managing.
possibly your employer run the payroll on time and release your paycheck after 2 months.

My Question is

Can I fight legally on this? not worth the money to fight legally. infact you can report your employer to department of labor - hour & wage department about this and they will investigate free of cost for you.Can I quit this job? you can quit your job provided that does not trigger breach of contract like you have bond or agreement to work for them for some definite period of time. as you are not paid properly you have very good reason to quit your employer and your employer cannot do anything if he tries to go court. you will win. He is going to ask me the employement and relocation charges if I quit. Can this be a legal reason to quit and avoid employement charges if he goes legally. employer not paying h1b alien is in violation of law. your employer will just try to exploit or emotionally blackmail you. even if you have signed million dollar contract that you have to pay him if you quit he will not be able to get even a single penny from you because your decision to quit from employer for your above said reason of non payment of salary is very genuine reason and accepted by law.

complain about him to dol. you will get the salary with interest and they will put severe penalties to your employer
 
“saigc” is correct ,you are on H1 when you transfer H1 with new employer better attach the recent pay stubs, no need to inform him that you filed for H1 transfer with new employer because if he gives you pay stubs late then if any RFE for H1 transfer regarding recent pay stubs you will be able to reply RFE if any and you will have the recent pay stub in hand . Inform the DOL as suggested by “saigc” after you join new employer all your payment will be recovered by DOL
 
he is paying the wages but very late.

Thank you very much for your replies. One more clarification here. He is paying all the money, but he is delaying them like paying once in 2 months. There is a condition in the offer letter , if I quit the job before one year of employement . I will have to pay employement charges.

can that delay in paying the wages be a valid reason to avoid the employement charges.??
 
can that delay in paying the wages be a valid reason to avoid the employement charges.??
--- yes, you need evidence that he is paying late
 
non payment of salary or delayed payment is violation of law provided you have NOT agreed this in WRITING. even if you have agreen in writing it depends on what circumstance you have accepted.

also as suggested by ginnu you have to have some proof. if your company has direct deposit policy then its automatic proof. if not then still giving benefit of doubt you will win because no one will just wait to encash the paycheck for 2 months.

if possible collect some proof like in email or anything. this might be useful later to pull him to the court for compensation. expose this kind of employer to the law and public. teach a lesson to your employer. do not forget to complain to dol. because thats the severe punishment they can get. also you can complain to irs if they try to detect any amount illegally.

note that this act of your employer will bring big trouble to him in not only with fine and debarement but if he is a greencard holder he might even get HIS greencard CANCELLED and make hime serve in jail and get deported. I HAVE PERSONNALY SEEN A EMPLOYER HAVE HIS GREENCARD CANCELLED AND GET DEPORTED FOR FORCING HIS EMPLOYEE TO PAY AROUND 20K TO AVOID CANCELLING THE EMPLOYEES GREENCARD PETITONS. this country (dol/immigration or any federal agency) treats this act of employer as bribary and makes that employer INADMISSIBLE and qualifies for MORAL TURPITUDE which is again inadmissible.

complain to dol and ins.
 
This is a good posting. Myself have the same issue with my employer & when I told him that if you stop my payments then get ready to face the consequences....and next day I get the check.
There is a doc by the name of "ESA Form WH-4" on the DOL website. This complaint form is specifically designed for h1-B non-immigrants employers. Employee need to fill out the form & fax/mail to the concerned DOL Wage & Hour Division.
Just make sure that you have alternate employment in hand...just in case he terminate you then you must get another employment with in 10 days of termination. While if he fires you then he is supposed to pay you pending wages plus return ticket for you & yoiur dependents to your home land.
Have another employer ready to file your H1 & then let your current employer know that get ready to face the music. You have to act smartly...as there is lot of tension in these matters.
 
yes you can get that form wh-4 in dol website http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/ (locate this in the menu in the left side. this should be under immigration and named as h1b complaint form)

you dont have to worry much about your status. but i can understant that this is really hard and may be you can also have another employment offer as backup. when you complain or informed your employer that you will complain then WHISTLE BLOWER protection act will protect your status. if your employer still terminates or do anything illegal to your job or status or salary or even greencard that is called retaliation. DOL and BCIS/USCIS will debarre your employer for around 5 years from any h1 or greencard petition and fine upto $40,000 as civil penalty if your employer retaliates you for complaining their violation to DOL or immigration department.

According to whistle blower protection act:
Section 212(n)(2) (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)), as amended by section 5 of this Act, is further amended--

(1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting `, or that the employer has intimidated, discharged, or otherwise retaliated against any person because that person has asserted a right or has cooperated in an investigation under this paragraph' after `a material fact in an application'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(F) Any alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), who files a complaint pursuant to subparagraph (A) and is otherwise eligible to remain and work in the United States, shall be allowed to seek other employment in the United States for the duration of the alien's authorized admission, if--

`(i) the Secretary finds a failure by the employer to meet the conditions described in subparagraph (C), and

`(ii) the alien notifies the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the name and address of his new employer.'.
 
Simmilar situation of nonpayment....!

Friends,

I came across this posting thru some other link. I found the information here very useful and hope to get some support in getting my money back.

I worked for a company from october,2000 till june,2002.

1.I got paid as agreed till March,2002.

2. But for April,May and June I was paid less. The paystub did not show actual hours I worked for. It shows the amount paid as others but mentions the hourly rate I should have been paid.

3.Employer said he should have dedcuted more since october,2000. Since he did not, he wanted to recover those amounts. No deductions are mentioned on Paystubs. He also threatened me over the phone to cancel my H1.

4. I complained this to the Dept. of labor(wages and hour) ,NJ in Oct.2003.

5.They came back saying I should complain this to U.s. State Dept of Labor since I am on H1.

6. I complained again to U.S. State dept of Labor in Dec.2003 as H1B Abuse by Employer.

7. Got reply from US state dept of labor saying they can investigate the cases only within prev. 1 year . Since in my case , 1 year is already over , they asked me submit if any thing is there within last year.


8. I have almost lost $12000 in this . Out of this $12000, $2,500 are deducted for my GC processing fees. I have no proof that my employer applied for my GC. He did not give me lawyer details.

9. Now is there any way I can legally fight this back ? Can I sue my employer in the court ?

10. I have
a.all timeheets signed by client,

b.details of payments made to employer by clients like check numbers,dates cashed and amounts.

c.paystubs for all the period I worked for with hourly rate mentioned on it.

d.Reffernce letter from client showing my work with them.

Can I use this as a proof ?

I really appreciate your help. I have gone thru tremendous mental stress due to all this. But want to fight back....!

Regards,
 
Complaint to DOL for wages against employer
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/
http://www.dol.gov/esa/forms/whd/fts_wh4.htm
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103054&highlight=complaint+to+DOL
Fill up form WH-4 send it to DOL they will take care


http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/
HIB complaint form
Print the form WH-4 The form must be forwarded to the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) office,
which has jurisdiction over the physical location of the employer.
For WHD locations, see the telephone directories under U.S. Government,
Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division or
http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/whd/america2.htm on the internet
http://www.dol.gov/esa/forms/whd/fts_wh4.htm
 
Hi Ginnu & SAIGC - what is "WHISTLE BLOWER"

my former employer said he sent letter to INS to revoke my approved I-140 when I complained to DOL abt wages etc. Do you call this retaliation by employer ? please let me know how to use "whistle blower" to screw my former employer....

chito
 
chito123 said:
my former employer said he sent letter to INS to revoke my approved I-140 when I complained to DOL abt wages etc. Do you call this retaliation by employer ? please let me know how to use "whistle blower" to screw my former employer....

chito
Click to expand...

Hi chito123,

It's very unfortunate...! I can understand the loss as I have lost almost $17,000 being cheated by 2 employers but I have to forget it.

1. I think there is not much option as Legal fees are too High ( $250/hr for lawyer and $1500 to file a lawsuit and then the case should be filed in the county where your company's office is) .

2. DOL would help you if you approach them within a years time....! But again employers have all kind of answers ready...!

3.For DOL go to US State DOL and not the individual state's office....!

4.In case you want to hire a lawyer , most of the counties have Attorney Bar Associations who can reffer you to the appropriate lawyer and would just charge $20 to $30 for initial consultaion.

Pl. let me know if I can be of any help.

Good Luck.....!
 
Hi Soham,

Thanks for your suggestion. I already complained to DOL abt unpaid wages. i want to screw him as much as I can. Trying to find from gurus about "WHISTLE BLOWER" act to further scrutinize my former employer....

chito
 
No paystub for bench period

Hi,

I came to the USA a month ago. Still I have not any project, my employer keeps submitting my resume.

As I have relatives here, I stay with them and my employer doesn't pay anything for my expenses.

I may try to transfer my H1B after I get few pay stubs from them. But, there was an agreement that I may have to work for them for couple of years. Can I show the reason, that my employer didn't pay for bench period , so I am transfering my H1B?

How serious the agreement is? In India, the law doesn't allow the employer to get any agreement with their employee. In USA what are the effects?

Please advice.
 
chito123 said:
my former employer said he sent letter to INS to revoke my approved I-140 when I complained to DOL abt wages etc. Do you call this retaliation by employer ? please let me know how to use "whistle blower" to screw my former employer....

chito
Click to expand...

yes. any adverse action against you is retaliation. employer with little bit of sense will not take any adverse action against employee when their relationship is not going smooth.

your employer may not have revoked it. they may just try to scare you. if you wish to pursue further you have the right to complain to EEOC about their retaliation and discriminations and seek remedy and compensation.

once proved eeoc may notify attorney general/uscis about the whistle blower violation which will reward them to get debarred from filing any h1 or greencard for anyone for certain years.

laws are even more favourable for you if your employer is located in state of california and illinois.
 
niroshan95 said:
Hi,

I came to the USA a month ago. Still I have not any project, my employer keeps submitting my resume.

As I have relatives here, I stay with them and my employer doesn't pay anything for my expenses.

I may try to transfer my H1B after I get few pay stubs from them. But, there was an agreement that I may have to work for them for couple of years. Can I show the reason, that my employer didn't pay for bench period , so I am transfering my H1B?

How serious the agreement is? In India, the law doesn't allow the employer to get any agreement with their employee. In USA what are the effects?

Please advice.
Click to expand...

you do not maintain your h1 status if you are not getting paid. your employer is legally REQUIRED to pay appropriate wages to you irrespective of whether you are project or not.

you may need few paystubs to transfer to new employer. alternately you can complain to dol and seek remedy.

bond is not legally enforceable in usa. but they use different wordings to escape from slavery employment practice. all depends on state and the wording.

employer will not be able to enforce this when they dont pay you from the beginning. any breach of contract like delayed pay or non payment will benefit you to break the bond.
 
Hi SAIGC - Complain to EEOC ??

Can you please let me know little more abt EEOC with any phone number or website to file complaint ? I want to use every venue that I could use to fight my employer. I have so many proofs of retaliation by my former employer. Your help is greatly appreciated by many ppl in this forum...

chito
 
chito123 said:
Can you please let me know little more abt EEOC with any phone number or website to file complaint ? I want to use every venue that I could use to fight my employer. I have so many proofs of retaliation by my former employer. Your help is greatly appreciated by many ppl in this forum...

chito
Click to expand...

whistle blower violation will be handled by DOL (www.dol.gov) and its base reason & other discriminations will be handled by EEOC (www.eeoc.gov). both are federal. in addition each state has their own whistleblower protection act.

you may file the complaint initially with dol and then proceed to eeoc depending on nature of violation. do not lodge complain with multiple federal agencies at the same time. they have certain regulation that an agency will NOT start their investigation when other federal agency is already in process. this delay will not affect the deadline required to file the complaint.

do not wait to complain. send certified mail to respective federal department. its even better if you go in person to their office to lodge the complain. teach a lesson to willful law violators
 
Hi,
I'm a software consultant and i've changed my employer a few days ago due to some problems (denial of H1 docs to get stamped, denial of even a copy of the docs, delayed pay for the month of March) and got H1 transfer done without having docs in hand. I intimated my old employer abt my resignation and he started threatening me first verbally saying that i breached the contract that i've with the company. However, the contract with the client ended Mar 31st and the extension was sent to my new employer from my vendor. Today i received a lawyer notice from my previous employer's attorney stating that i cannot work with the same client or vendor for the next 1 yr, which is mentioned in their contract. As per the US law, i heard that no employer can hold the employee or any employer can lay off their employees any time without prior notice. So, in my case, will i be liable to any legal action? If 'yes', then can i take any action against them for not releasing the docs and illegal delaying of my pay check (I heard that its illegal to not pay the employee on time, in any case). Please do reply to this query of mine as I am worried if the attorney's mail would really mean something serious. If so what could I do about the situation?
Regards
 
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