What to do if my partner and I are being paid considerably less than the salary owed to us per our contract?
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What to do if my partner and I are being paid considerably less than the salary owed to us per our contract?
I’m employed with my partner at a certain company. Our situation is unique; in our contract, signed by both us and the owners of the company, we are supposed to be paid X amount of dollars per month (a salary more or less). Instead, we are being paid an hourly wage, making far less than we should per our contract. We have been given no explanation regarding this lower rate of pay, and though we have asked about it, our questions have been dodged. Do we have grounds for a lawsuit?
Asked on June 8, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you have an enforceable contract, and you are honoring your obligations under it, you must be paid as per the contract--there should not be any legal grounds for paying you less. You could sue to enforce the contract, and recover the difference between what you were paid and what you should have been paid. The first thing to do is to bring the contract to an attorney and discuss with him/her the circumstances under which it was signed and of your employment, to make sure that it is in fact an enforceable contract.
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