I worked "under the table" for my boss who owns a separate company. She refused to put me on payroll because she didn't think it was right having her catering business pay for her eBay selling since she didn't get taxes taken out. We never sorted through that situation before all this crap broke out but I never filled out any tax information. I sold things for her online, at $8 an hour, on Ebay in the shop in the basement, while doing things around her shop like deliveries and going to the post office and working at auctions (catering), and making orders like sandwiches, etc. Now, she's pissed off because she feels like she shouldn't have gotten so many eBay fees when she knew ahead of time what I was putting on like the prices, etc, BEFORE I put them up and now she's pissed off because she got so many fees. Plus she says that she knows NOTHING about eBay and expected me to know EVERYTHING and advise her of every choice I was making - She hired me for the purpose of Ebay and prior employees who were hired for the same thing ended up stealing and doing illegal activity - she fired them and pressed charges. She now says I am responsible for this problem and therefore, she feels I need to pay her back. I clocked in and out with a time sheet which she has calculated, I now OWE HER another $165. The bill was a little over $700 and she said she'd consider paying half. She says she has talked to her lawyer and that she can press charges on me. She refuses to give me the last two checks and now I'm screwed out of over $400... HELP! Is this illegal? I am devastated because I have child support due and Christmas, etc... needless to say, she refuses to pay me and I've pretty much quit due to the emotional stress of the job. She screams at me constantly and puts me down and humiliates me in front of other employees. I kept copies of all transactions and emails written between my boss and myself, including one that says about how I am fed up with the way she humiliates me, etc, and whether she still wanted me to work there, etc, because I was tired of the way she was always accusing me of screwing up, etc... which I wasn't... she just knows NOTHING about eBay and therefore considers me to be an expert... So, tell me, DOES she have LEGAL RIGHT to hold my check to "pay back" the debt she says I owe her? HELP!

No, she can not withhold your checks, and no if you were hired to place items on sale for eBay, she should have either asked or investigated the charges that eBay charges. ( I will assume you were using some of the more expensive charges or there were a lot of items being posted)

And since she had other employees doing it before she should have well known the charges.

Now here is the issue, you were working illegally, "off the books" so she has problems there also, since you were working hourly, not a contract employee, she had to withhold taxes, and pay unemployment taxes, and pay her share of the social secuirty taxes. ( remember you will owe the full tax amount from your check, So with that you are getting cheated big time, working for such a low amount. Instead of the normal 7.5 percent tax for social security, you will now have to pay the full15 percent, as a contract employee. Also you still owe the full taxes also.

So what you need to do is file a complaint against her to the labor board, and also file a suit against her in small claims court for your pay.

I agree with the guy with the dog collar [kidding Chuck]. Believe me she does not want you going to the labor board.

Won't I get in trouble though because I was "under the table"? What will happen to me?
So, should I go to the police and bring up the complaint?

She made strict orders that anything that didn't sell - and I put up around 45-60 things a week; then around 5-20 thing actually sold - I would have to relist taking roughly 50 cents off each starting bid... I would print out the list of things that didn't sell, and SHE would write down what price she wanted it relisted at.. THEN I would relist things she put a lower price on which was just about all - she would also read what I put up as the details and the information I listed. I made sure everything was correct before I listed it. When I talked to her on Friday - when she informed me I would not be receiving any checks and that I actually OWED her - she told me I shouldn't have listed everything in two categories (which apparently wastes her money although ultimately saves her money, since if it sells, she doesn't have to relist several times over), I didn't have to chose the headliners that I chose (although she had seen MY OWN eBay and that I did everything the Same way) and basically told me I was in the wrong - wasting her money - and told me that she is paying out more between paying fees on eBay and paying me - then making any sort of profit.
After she first brought it to my attention, I guess earlier that week, I started to pull back my hours - considering she was delivering orders from time to time and not always there - since she couldn't proof everything, I left early hoping she would BACK OFF since she wouldn't be paying me anything because she even ed about how much research I did on her antiques.
Needless to say, on Friday, it really hit hard.
And now, on top of that, I put her as a reference on most of my applications because at that point, I was looking for a part time job to cover the income I knew I wasn't making through her company with her shutting me down early, etc, because she was often leaving to do her own personal business and then would tell me I had to leave too.

My family and I discussed this and they pretty much all agree that EBAY should not be handled by someone else especially when you - yourself - know nothing about it. I am so discouraged and disheartened. I REALLY liked this job - I mean REALLY - because this was the first job I was actually interested in and was right up my alley, so to speak.

I am so down about this - really, I am... and now I'm just wondering how I'm going to pull through Christmas, etc, this year.
I've already gotten another job through Fedex but it's only part time and that pretty much screws me out of anything.
Plus, I can't get my first paycheck for another two weeks...

I feel like I could cry.

See Judge Judy, seriously from what you've stated and you have the supporting evidence, small claims court is the way to get your money. Doesn't matter if your on, or off the books as long as you have documentation. There will be the issue of taxes to reconcile though, but get your money first.

What Can She Say To Dispute My Claim Though? I'm Scared She'll Make An Out Of Me And Embarrass Me The Way She Has Since I Got Hired.

Ok, time to grow up a bit and don't care what a horse someone tries to make of you, she already is doing that by not paying you and laughing at you for taking it. Most likely she picked you because she felt if things went wrong, she could merely cheat you out of your money and she guessed you would not do anything about it.

And no you won't get into trouble, since you can say you were working for her for so much a hour, and she was to pay you as a contract worker,
Where she would report your income as a 1099 worker. Now you would have had to report this income and pay taxes on it anyway to be legal.
So as long as you report your income, you can't get into touble,

But if you don't want to report her to the labor board, just sue her in court, take all your facts, hours worked, copies of your time sheet if you have it, and all the evidence you have.

Most likely she does not want any of these facts to be made public, since she knows she is stealing from you.

No this is not a criminal issue but a civil issue so going to the police would not do you any good.

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Originally Posted by KISSROMEO2

What Can She Say To Dispute My Claim Though? I'm Scared She'll Make An Out Of Me And Embarass Me The Way She Has Since I Got Hired.

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Part of your problem has been you've taken her crap far to long. Sometimes its not winning or losing that's important, but standing up for what you think is right. Stop whinig and fight for yourself!

It doesn't sound like she can legally withhold your paycheck. And I think she's bluffing about the lawyer telling her she can press charges against you. You've done nothing illegal (tax evasion notwithstanding) as far as selling merchandise on e-bay. If she was unaware of the fees then ultimately that's her responsibility, not yours. After all, the fees she's had to pay are no different than for anyone else who sells merchandise on e-bay. Bottom line, she's got no case against you and you can take action to compel her to pay you what you're owed. You may have to reassure the judge that you'll claim whatever income you earned working for her under the table when you do your tax return for 2006. You might want to start by threatening to report her to the Labor Relations Board. Then, if she doesn't pay up, make good on your threat.

How do I go about finding a lawyer when I have absolutely no money.. after all, I didn't get my check... grr... I mean, do lawyers do this sort of thing for free?

Small claims court, no one has a lawyer, both parties represent thierself.

You just go down and file,

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

small claims court, no one has a lawyer, both parties represent thierself.

you just go down and file,

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What if she wants to bring a lawyer? Because like I said, she already threatened me... and the small claims court, how much do I pay for all that? Are there fees involved? Can I have her pay them?

You can go to small claims court and file for a nominil fee, a phone call can let you know how much. They may let you sue for court costs if you win.

You've got good advice but let me summarize. Most state small claims courts have booklets (printed and online) that explain exactly how small claims courts work, what the fees are etc.

You then assemble your documentation of how many hours you worked and what you are owed and file suit.

Now there is a catch here. Part of that catch depends on how long you worked for her. If the job starting in 2005 and she did not send you a 1099 for 2005, then you both have trouble with the IRS. If you started in 2006, you both can make the claim that you are a contract ermployee. But that puts the burden on you if you haven't filed quarterly estimated taxes and paid the SS tax.

Frankly, I think you've put yourself between a rock an a hard place (not only in this situation). I'm not really sure how a judge will rule.