[supermom828]

Please help I worked for this lady at a convince store for over a year I worked 17 hours a day with out a day off for 9 months I only made 6.00 a hour which was not even mim-wage I found out latter. I quit not too long ago. And ever since I quit she has been slander my good name. She told everybody that I stoled thousands of dollars from her and I sold drugs out of her store which is all a big lie the next lie she told was that I was in jail for saling drugs in a town I don't even know where is I was actually at my cousin funeral she was upset that I quit and was not her slave no more. She sent me a letter an said I could come back to work for her but no way its like she blackmailing me :either you work for me or I spread all the lies about you. Are they any thing I can do legally she driving me crazy.. please help

[Fr_Chuck]

First 6 dollars a hour is well over the federal min wage, so unless your state has a higher wage, a lot of people make less than 6 dollars a hour.
If you were making less than your state min wage, first find out of this business was exempt from the state wage. In some states those business that only employ a small number of people are sometimes expempt from state min wage.

Next you were not a slave, you were free to go to work somewhere else, or quit any day you wanted to. And no I doubt you really worked 17 hours a day , 7 days a week for 9 months, but if you did, you agreed to it, you could have said no at any time.

[momtobe949]

I do have to agree with Fr_Chuck on some points the only other option you have is to find out what your rights are with a labour board if you have such a thing in your state, and then go from there. If you feel you need to step it up a level speak to legal aid

[shygrneyzs]

If you can prove that what she is saying is slander, then take your questions and go and talk to an attorney. She would need to prove that you did do the things she is accusing you of. If she ever wrote those accusations down, as in a letter or a post, the you could sue her for lilbel also. So instead of getting furious over this and doing nothing - do something and do it legal.

About your wage and hour concerns - talk to your state's Labor Department - Wage and Hour Division. Go to the right people to make your complaints and hopefully you will be able to settle this.

[ScottGem]

As Shy said, if you can prove she has told these lies and that they are lies, then you can sue her for slander. The problem though, is you have to prove the slander has caused you harm. Have you been turned down for a job because of the lies?

But you should definitely consult an attorney. Most attorneys will give you a free consult. And acase like this might be taken on a contingency basis, which means you don't pay unless you win.