What can I doif my employer started paying me in cash and pocketed the taxes that were supposed to have been paid?

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What can I doif my employer started paying me in cash and pocketed the taxes that were supposed to have been paid?

About 4 months ago my employer stopped giving me a weekly paycheck and paid me the amount of the paycheck, net,  after taxes, in cash. At first I did not think much about it but I also did not receive a pay stub anymore. After a while I asked him for a weekly pay stub but he never gave me one. After asking him over and over he finally gave me one this month. When I checked my annual gross income, it was only 3 weeks of payments higher than it was when I stopped getting a paycheck and not as it supposed to be by now. He pocketed my taxes. What can I do?

Asked on November 20, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

Your employer  is breaking the law, from what you write. You have two options:

1) You can report him to the IRS and/or state taxing authorities--he is apparently not remitting the taxes he is required to.

2) You can sue him--by not remitting the taxes he has withheld, he is stealing from you, since you will then be held responsible for those taxes. (He's also hurting you vis-a-vis social security credits, and possibly also in regards to unemployment insurance and/or worker's compensation, if he's not making those contributions.)

You should discuss this matter with an employment law attorney to consider what would be your best option.


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