Hi all,

I have a major problem. I hope you guys can come up with some good suggestions, if any. Please..??

I have been in the US of A as an F-1 student, for more than a year. I never had, nor did I even think that I would ever come across this kinda situation. The thing is during this summer of ’06, I worked for a fast-food restaurant in cash. The business is actually a corporate one, but an Indian and a Turkish guy have been running this branch as franchise holders for few years. There was no problem for the past two and a half months; everyone knows and they admit it too that I was the best employee ever; drama started once I gave them the fifteen day notice that I was quitting from the 26th coz my school was restarting from the 28th. They wanted me to work till sometime around September but since I did give them the 15 day notice as per the rule (or whatever they say), I wasn’t obliged to them in any way. Everything seemed ok but now that I call them up to ask for my pay check, they say they won’t pay me!! To my greater surprise, I came to know from my best buddy, who was working with me in there, that the manager called her n said that (now that I’ve already left ‘em) he suspected me of taking cash from the register. When I called him up why he wouldn’t pay me, then he says u have cheated me, so I don’t wanna pay u. All the registers are watched over by the security cameras, so I told them when u have blamed me with such a big accusation, u have everything taped why don’t u show it to me. But they won’t. Coz they don’t have anything! I swear on my most beloved ones I haven’t done anything such, I did never even think abt taking a penny. I am frustrated. I don’t know what to do. We all know how much even a dollar is worth for students like us. I don’t wanna loose my hundreds of dollars. I have worked so hard for it, and thts not what I deserve. When I ask them abt it, they say if u will take it any further we will take it to the immigration (they have my SSN, too)!!! WTF. I even challenged them to do it. I m not scared coz I know n God knows I’ve never done anything wrong as wht they have been accusing. On top of that they called me up yesterday and threatened ‘if anything happens to me and my business I will make sure u’ll go to jail and go back home!!!I cannot live with that allegation! I am not being able to console myself. Everyone knows they are just doing it not to pay me. I’ve not been able to concentrate in my studies nor anything I just feel like crying my heart out.
I am a very good student and have remained in good standing ever. Do u have any ideas abt anything I can do to get my money and clear the accusation off my head?( There are many others too who haven’t gotten their pay from them). I m hurt, hurt as I can ever be!! Is there anyone who can give me a good suggestion, please?
Your appropriate suggestions would be highly appreciated!

Tell them that u talked to a laywer and he said he can file a case for u because they had hired u illigally and were paying u cash under the table.

misss,
here r some of the stuff you could do to get ur pay back.

1. if you have not done anything like stealing then you can tell them either they are going to pay you your money or you are going to the labor department.
2. make sure you return all their items like uniforms
3. go to the police and file a complaint that you are not paid. [ it works]

more measures can be taken to obtain your money.

Missss,
i agree with all the good points everyone have made. however, personally i would say, Do a Cost benefit analysis.
Does it worth going through all this hassel when you are in school? that 2 weeks worth of $$$ would be ur 1 day earning when you finish your school (I heard RN's make good $$ ;)).
So think twice before you make your move.
But be mindful you didnt do anything illigal. As they hired you for Cash.. they are the one who should be scared.. not you. They are evading tax and they can get into lot of trouble for that plus you may also be eligible for reward if you file a compain. (not sure about this checkc out the irs website)
before you complain, I would suggest you make it clear to them that, if you didnt get your money by certain deadline. you would be seeking legal justice.(I am sure they will understand... :) )

Good Luck!!

Here is what I suggest. Go to a lawyer. Tell him this burger owns you x amount and that you can afford pay to him 30% if he can assign one of his assistents to draft letters in an attempt to collect the money. Payment only if amount is collected. They will forward him a mail and hopefully they will feel thretned and pay you. Get their full information name address phone etc and go to the lawyer. Have the lawyer call the boss too. Let your employer know that you know a lawyer and that he can now expect to hear from him. Just give it a shot but frankly I don't see any worth wasting your time and energy. All the best. The Nepalese association will probably have a lawyer to recommend.

I suggest you not to let it go just like that. First all of, you need to stop worry completely thinking about you could be deported. I can guarantee you that it won't happen because of this until you are in illegal status. They are just scaring hell out of you and trying to make save their money not paying you. That's one of indian prime natures. They are the one who can be in trouble, not you. I think you should have gotton some web links above from others where you can file your complain. Do that. It won't harm you anything.

If you want you can file a law suit against them in a small claim court. You don't need any lawyer to fight this case. It might cost you around $20-$30 for filing fee. All you have to do is prove yourself that you worked there. Since you were working there in a cash basis, you have one more advantage. They can't show any evidences that they paid you. So you could claim more than they owe you if you want. Tell the Judge that they didn't pay you since you started working there. I think you would win the case.

I can personally involve to help you out if you are located somewhere in LA.

Don't think too much. Give priority to your study because it will make your future bright. Also, it is neccesary to make those bastards learn a lesson.

which state the case actually happened?

In TX

my sincere thanks to all of u.

Shailendra ji, after all ur words I wish I would be in LA too. Atleast I 'ld have someone to back me up. I m in TX.
I dont want to drop down to their level and threaten them by taking gunda looking frens/dais (as Xena suggested, thank u though, I wish I could do that),but I cant let this matter go just like this. They have accused me thats the bigger point! I need it to be cleared off my head. With all the mixed suggestions that are coming in here,Ii m a lill confused too abt wht next should I do??
Has anyone of us gone thro' similar situation like mine and then resolved it? Any one of us practising law?
Sujanks, do u think none of us will be in trouble if I report it to IRS and BBB? Wht if this ruins my gonna-be nursing career?? Plz advice
Help ...

Misss,
sorry to hear about this. Its good to see you prepared to leave it behind. I think thats the best thing to do right now. After u graduate that hundreds dollars wont be anything to you. Cheer up. ;)

here is one of the news, not ike yours..hope this news will open eyes to thousands of illegal immigrants who are suffering from their boss and gets justice...

http://www.unv.net/2006/LAW/08/31/slavery.sentence.ap/index.html

Man gets 27 years for enslaving housekeeper

CENTENNIAL, Colorado (AP) -- A man convicted of sexually assaulting an Indonesian housekeeper and keeping her virtually as a slave was sentenced Thursday to 27 years to life in prison.

Homaidan Al-Turki, 37, denied the charges and blamed anti-Muslim prejudice for the case against him. He said prosecutors persuaded the housekeeper to accuse him after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.

Al-Turki, a citizen of Saudi Arabia who lived in the Denver suburb of Aurora, was convicted June 30 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion, all felonies, and misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

Defense attorney John Richilano said he would appeal the convictions.

Prosecutors and FBI agents said Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, brought the now 24-year-old woman to Colorado to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. An affidavit said she spent four years with the family, sleeping on a mattress on the basement floor and getting paid less than $2 a day.

Al-Turki said he treated the woman the same way any observant Muslim family would treat a daughter.

"Your honor, I am not here to apologize, for I cannot apologize for things I did not do and for crimes I did not commit," he told the judge. "The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors. Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution."

Al-Turki said he has been under investigation as a suspected terrorist since 1995 but has never been charged with the crime.

"I am not a terrorist and I don't advocate terrorism," he said.

Prosecutors denied Al-Turki was targeted because he was Muslim or that the woman's allegations were trumped up. Prosecutor Natalie Decker said the evidence was overwhelming.

The Associated Press is not identifying the woman because of the sexual nature of the charges.

Al-Turki, a linguist who worked at a Denver publishing and translating company, also faces trial in federal court in October on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.

In April, he and Khonaizan agreed to pay the nanny about $64,000 in wages to settle a Labor Department lawsuit. He could also face restitution payments in the state case. The judge said he would rule on that later.

Khonaizan pleaded guilty to a federal immigration charge and a state theft charge. She was sentenced to home detention and probation in the federal case and two months in jail in the state case. Her attorney, Forrest Lewis, has said she wants to return to Saudi Arabia and will not fight deportation.

so far i know the person who hires in cash..they can be charged with felony for tax evasion...

miss, you will not be in trouble. but, u should warn those guys working over there of what u are doing. if the people working there are not helping you, then they are not your friends. so, to hell with them. U accepted a job without proper filling of forms w-4 and w-9. but, that is the employer's repsonsiblity, not yours. once you make a complain, BBB will send a letter to them, asking them to resolve the issue themselves and that BBB is notified if the case is settled. i think they give like 30 days to resolve. if not resolved then, BBB will seek help from authorities, in this case i think IRS, because IRS is much more stricter than INS or any other agencies. they would spend 100k to get 10k. i think you should be fine. it is not a question of 2 weeks of payment, it is a question of morality and that none of the people in later days shoudl suffer what you have suffered. and that you can stop them from doing it ever again.

as long as your status is clean with the ins such as have a valid i-20, i-94 and properly registerd classes, INS will not deport you. they might levy you some fines, when you apply for your H-1 or green card, but they will not send you home. yeah, the govt will take the restaurant's license, of course, and your so-called friends will be out of job.

i also suggest you speak with a lawyer. most lawyers give you first hour of free advice. just look on a yellow book. sometimes, your local tv channels have open law lines. also, you can go to any church and seek help from them. churches do not like people like those restaurant owners. yeah, they should be able to take care. make sure you surround yourself with peopel you can actually trust. they are not necessarily people you know, but they are people you can trust. church officials and PD, BBB, are your best bets.

you see, by hiring you in cash, they have commited two big time crimes. they have not collected Federal withholding tax, social security and medicare from you, and they are not contributing to your social security and medicare. also, by giving you cash they are not providing factual income statement. this could have resulted in hiding the sales tax that they have collected. basically, they are stealing from the Federal govt and the state govt.

Misss, you don't need to think too much and be sleepless. Different people have different opinions. I have seen so many real cases and once I filed a law suit in a small claim court against my formal room mate because he was not returning my security deposit and became so nasty when I asked him for my money. I won the case in court.

If I am you, first thing I would call bbb and irs and report them. Don't be nervous. They will be very helpful. Ask as many questions as you like. Next thing, I would do is I would go to a small claim court and file a lawsuit against those bastards. All you have to do is you need to prove to judge that you worked there.The court will not do anything against you even you were working illegally. Trust me on that.

Make a game plan. I can help you on that. Do not try to contact those bastards again. You know that they won't pay you easily. If you want to talk to me on the phone in more detail, email me your number I will call you.

f**King dhotis and turkish.

Miss,

I truly understand your problem. While I know you do not have very strong ground to stand up against them, but I am very confident that you can still do few things to get your money. First thing you have to know that, those people can NOT go to immigration for any reason, for that will result themselves in trouble. Also, your social security can not be misused so easily. Only someone with that mission of stealing others identity and misusing it can do it; I am sure they do not dare to do that. Moreover, you can track your credit history once in a while (you can actually do it for free only for the history..they charge for the credit score).

You can go to them while they are there and talk to them again (maybe you can have someone accompany you if you like, but that is not necessary). If they do not want to give the money, call the police from there. Just tell the police that you are not getting paid for what you worked. It should NOT lead you to trouble. The police thing and immigrartion are not related (as in such scenarios).

Or, for what they call "small problems," the city attorny can fix it. Go and see the city attorny in your city and tell them your story.

If I were you, I would call the police. I would ask them "are you going to pay me or I call the police?" I am sure they do not want to see the police in their business...And, like you told, it is a franchise, if the headquarter knows it, they will be in more trouble. They do not want that. They are on much more riskier side than you are. Miss, I am sure you will get varities of suggestion here, but you can be confident that they can not so easily report you to INS and misuse your SSN. Listen to your heart and act soon!

Good luck.

Misss,
Exactly same thing happened to a friendof mine in dallasabout3-4 years ago. His employer, who obciously happens to be indian, tried not to pay him. So, he theatened ofcomplaining to IRS. You see, IS is sticker than INS. INS might not doanything to you even if theyfind out you worked for cash but if IRS finds out that they paid you cash and tried to avoid paying social secuity and Fedeal tax, theywill shut down the businessand chage them thousands of dolla in fine.

So, next time you go to talkto you ex-employers, tell them that youmiht call IRS. All you have to do is ive IS their business name and address.


Goodluck

My advice to you is DO NOTHING.

This sounds absurd and cowardish but the fact is you've broken a law which could possibly land you in big trouble with the immigration authorities. It's true that your employer can also get into a lot of trouble with IRS and what not, but there's more harm that can be done to you than the other way around. At this point it's all about who's got better financial resources and contacts. So, keep calm and let your ego aside, and move on.

Losing two weeks pays compared to chances of being picked up by the authorities (highly unlikley but it's possible) is dismally trivial.

All the best.

-JB

miss... damn.. you gotta give them some threat...... go upto them.. and be like give me the damn cash that i earned or imma have to sue you guys and if you dont know this.. i would actually be the guy owning this place and ya'll gonna be working for me.. and dont worry.. imma pay you for every single minute you work... JUST MAKE THE THREAT just let them know that they are in violation of the labor force and if they dont pay you... you might as well go to INS.... even get deported but before you get deported you are gonna be sue them for some emotional damage, made you feel that USA is not what it is defined as.... blah blah..... and earn so much money that you are not gonna have to worry about going to some other country to complete your study but at the same time sue them for invading your rights.... right to get paid once you work for them... coz it wasnt a volunteer work.. and they are in as much trouble as they are.. actually they are more because they hired you to work for them knowing that they shouldnt have hired you because they get the discription of who they can hire and under what circumstance.... but again you are again ONLY gonna be making the threat... but talk in such a way that you make them understand that they are going to have to pay alot more than you made and at the same time have the chance of losing their business and also have to face some criminal charges... this is the country where everybody gets treated right.... the law applies to everyone... damn.. i only wish i was in your situation... i would have wiped the floor with those f@cks and make em pay everysingle dime they owe me.... seems like this is your time to learn how this country is run.. if you need any more suggestion feel free to im me at sliksenhel @ aim...