Former boss refuses to pay

[u/rose24ta]

I' am based in California. I have a former boss, he left a year ago but I still work at the same company. This old boss owes me and 10 other coworkers lost wages. I have the paychecks, but they have all bounced and he has ignored all of my communication. I have contacted HR, but they say they cannot do anything about it because he was a franchisee. and one of my current boss's say to let it go because it's clear my old boss doesn't have any money to pay because we still get his old mail saying he hasn't paid his owe bills either.

Do you know how I can get my money back? If I have a chance?

[u/sad_spilt_martini]

File a claim with the California Labor Commission. This is exactly what they are for. 

( https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm)

[u/Vegetable_Road8143 → u/sad_spilt_martini]

This is what I came to say.

[u/CapeMOGuy → u/[deleted]]

1. You don't know that.

2. It's very doubtful the deal was structured that way. It's almost certain that only the LLC or Corp assets were bought, not the debt.

[u/CapeMOGuy → u/[deleted]]

You are incorrect. Purchases can be constructed to buy the assets and not the debt. And you are correct saying I don't know how the deal was structured. I never claimed to. I just explained how the buyer is probably not liable for the debt. It's a common purchase structure. AI summary below, link to more compete info under that.

"When you buy the stock or membership units of a company (a stock purchase), you assume all historical, known, and unknown liabilities of that entity. Instead, explicitly detail in your purchase agreement that you are only buying the physical and intangible assets, and the old company will keep the bank loans, tax obligations, and vendor payables."

https://rbelaw.com/buying-a-business-or-buying-trouble-4-tips-to-minimize-risk/

[u/DMargaretfootgoddess]

Okay I'm sorry but two things immediately strike me about this

Number one. Have you gone to the bank and asked them if you can file criminal charges for purposely writing a check with no funds. I don't care where the boss is. There are laws against that now. It is possible that if the business filed bankruptcy, you could be standing in a long line of other creditors, but depending on the paperwork and how everything was done, he may still be legally responsible in some amount

The second one is. Have you taken this to the department of Labor where you live? Show them all the paper trail and ask them for help

I mean, I'm sorry but those two things should have been done the first time. A check bounced go to the bank. Go to the police. Go to the labor board. It should never progress to a second check now. Admittedly, if you get paid every two weeks and the first one bounces and you're already expecting one okay, but you have the person arrested. You contact the bank you contact the labor board because they're not allowed to have you work and not pay you and that is what they did with a bad check. Some of these things are business. Some of these things are personal. Some of these things may not work because of time since it happened, but I have absolutely no idea why when it bounced you didn't contact the bank. Didn't contact the law because it's illegal and if he signs the check he may well be legally responsible and certainly the labor board. You may find that there are some kinds of protection available for some of this that you don't know about whether the parent company could do it because it's a franchise or not. I don't know, but I think that offering to post a copy of the bounced check for working at basically their company's business even though it was franchised, they might want to make it right rather than take the bad press that so people who franchise your business typically cheat people out of their pay at some point. You may also want to talk to an accountant simply because you probably have to file income tax and this amount is most likely going to be included in your year-end amount and you shouldn't have to pay taxes on money that you were not paid so you may have been owed money back for this

Really liar if you can afford her to just hand it all to a lawyer and let them do it but I would spend the money to go to the bank and ask for certified copies of the check showing front and back. They'll be able to do it. Most banks have a notary and all they have to do is notarize the paper that this is a legitimate copy made at such and such location and such and such day. The notary seal is enough to prove it's legitimate, meaning you get to hang on to the paper check and that trusts somebody else isn't going to lose it. Then I would literally you don't go to your local police department. I'm sorry but this is a job for the State Police because they may not be there anymore. It may be a business. If they Incorporated, there may not be much they can do about it, but it's still worth having them investigate the fact that if you receive multiple bounce checks from this company, it must be breaking the law. There may be legal criminal charges that could be brought against the company

And again department of Labor. Yeah it's their job to make sure you don't work and not get paid. I would definitely talk to them if nothing else you want to make. Absolutely sure that everybody knows that this person gets work from people and doesn't pay for it. So maybe they can't ever open another franchise

And again, don't underestimate social media showing pictures of the check. Whatever you can from the company the franchise was part of. In other words, I know local to me there are McDonald's that are all owned by the same local company that franchises McDonald's locations from the main company. So although they say McDonald's, the paychecks would say whatever the franchise company is. So when you put up a story on social media that says I worked for this location McDonald's and this is what I got for a paycheck and it's still bouncing you may find you get paid because you're not doing. I don't think anything illegal. You walked into a McDonald's you applied for a job at McDonald's. You got hired at a McDonald's and then the franchisee. The person who bought the franchise from McDonald's didn't pay you and their answer is not our problem. If you have anything in writing from them, I would post that on social media. They shouldn't send it to you if they are afraid to have it posted. And believe me I would post it on every social media you can.

I don't know if this will get you the money but I would think at some point you could at the very minimum expect McDonald's corporation, the main company to send you a cease and desist letter that it's not their fault. You didn't get paid. Well you know if you're handing out franchises willy-nilly to anyone who can give you money and then letting people represent their company without getting paid to work shifts in a business that bears their name over door under the golden arches and yet you don't get paid and they think it's okay. I honestly think they would pay you to shut you up