Can an employer not pay you for work done?

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Can an employer not pay you for work done?

I worked for Chipotle for about 3 weeks and
never got a check from there back in 2015. I
tried to reach them 3-4 times about this with no
luck.

I also have a company who never paid me a
final pay check for over 3,000, they have 4
claims in small claim court for this type of
situation too

Asked on May 20, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

No, an employer MUST pay you for all work you did (e.g. all hours worked). Certainly, they could fire you if they don't like you or how you were working out, but you still must be paid for all work you did and could sue for the money if you were not paid.
However, this is essentially a contractual claim: not paying you the amount they agreed to pay for the work you did. If there was no written employment contract, it would be a claim based on an oral (unwritten) contract. In your state, the "statute of limitations" or "SOL" for a claim based on an oral contract is only two years; this means you must file any lawsuit within two years of when they should have paid you but failed to do so or else you will not be allowed to sue.


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