united-states criminal-law contract-law new-york-state employer
Want to sue my former employer for wage theft; or settle
<p>I have not been paid wages for April 2019 and was abruptly laid off on May 8. I want to sue the company. They are moving money out of the U.S., telling employees we'll be paid soon, and seemingly preparing for bankruptcy. A source tells me the company is prepared for former employees trying to file a lawsuit. </p>

<p>My other friend, not giving formal legal advice, says it sounds like an open and shut case, but none of the former employees have the resources at present to sue the company for wages. He says the company is committing wage theft and likely is guilty of "unfair preference" if all this is indeed happening.</p>

<p>Are there any legal firms that would take on this type of case? They're moving money to other countries and employees there have been paid. </p>

<p>Time is a bit of the essence. Sounds like they're going to declare bankruptcy on May 15. They're trying to get us to sign general release documents but I'm holding out so far.</p>

<p>Yes, you can sue for wage theft, and assuming the facts are as in the question, should have a good case. You will definitely need a lawyer, and I cannot recommend one, nor should anyone on this site.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.nysba.org/lawyerreferral/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This page from the NY State bar association</a> offers a referral service. <a href="https://www.lawhelpny.org/issues/workers-rights" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This page from lawhelpny.org</a> offers referrals to both free and paid services. <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/find-attorney" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this page from the NY State Attorney General</a> links to various referral sites. So does <a href="https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/attorney-referral-services-in-new-york.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this page from LegalMatch</a></p>
