Any lawyers here? (Employment Law question)

[Lex_Luthor]

I have an ongoing case with the Colorado Department of Labor Standards against my summer employer. Basically, he withheld money from some paychecks, showing a deduction for health insurance, which I NEVER authorized. When I turned in my paperwork, I denied health insurance coverage, but I don't have a copy of it (stupid me, I know, but usually they give you a form to sign, and I signed and returned it to him.) I'm sure he'll be required to present the docs in court, and if he fails to do so, it'll only be worse for him. I have all my pay stubs showing the unauthorized deductions.

Per directions from the Dept of Labor, I have followed all steps to get my money, and he has ignored my requests, as well as the mediation requests from Colorado. I have been mailed copies of all the correspondence from the Dept of Labor, and my next step is to file with Small Claims court. According to the Dept of Labor, I am entitled to sue for up to 125% of the amount owed to me, or the amount owed to me + 10 days' pay, whichever is greater. 10 additional days' pay is more than the amount I'm going to be suing for, so that'll be nice. I can also include court costs and filing fees in the claim.

The letter also talks about some other penalties that he might be subjected to, including jail time. (Which would be sweet, I wanna nail this guy to the fucking wall.)

Anyway, I want to know if anyone can offer some legal advice just to help me get my ducks in a row and strengthen my case. I want to walk in there, and not allow him an inch of room. I'm already 95% sure that I'm going to get my money, but I want to make sure I get EVERYTHING I'm entitled to, including the extra pay. I don't know if a lawyer is required in Small Claims court, in fact, I don't think you need one, but what if I could have someone present??

[OneGuy67]

Here is the state link to the forms.

http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm/Form_Type_ID/9

Here is a link to small claims rules.

http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/File/Self_Help/Small_Claims/Small_Claims_rules(1).pdf

Here is what it says about attorneys in small claims court:

(2) Attorney Representatives of Entities. No attorney, except pro se or as an authorized full-time employee or active general partner of a partnership, an authorized active member or full-time employee of a union, a full-time officer or full-time employee of a for-profit corporation, or a full-time employee or active member of an association, which partnership, union, corporation, or association is a party, shall appear or take any part in the filing or prosecution or defense of any matter in the small claims court, except as permitted by rule 520(b).

Here is a small claims handbook for non-lawyers.

http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/File/Media/Brochures/smallclaimsweb.pdf



I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

[BPTactical]

But did you sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

[TFOGGER]

I'm not a lawyer, nor did I stay at a holiday Inn Express last night...


Good luck, and may God have mercy on your soul....[Beer][ROFL2]

[Lex_Luthor]

Umm... I went to one, but didn't sleep much... NOW do I need to speak to a lawyer? [Peep]

[StagLefty]

Umm... I went to one, but didn't sleep much... NOW do I need to speak to a lawyer? [Peep]

Was there any dancing involved ? [ROFL1]

[Lex_Luthor]

I didn't know there was a name for the "no pants dance" or the "horizontal shuffle".....

[TFOGGER]

Umm... I went to one, but didn't sleep much... NOW do I need to speak to a lawyer? [Peep]

Kind of depends....was it job related? http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/forums/images/smilies/hump.gif

[Lex_Luthor]

Strictly pleasure.

By the way, thanks OneGuy for the links. I printed a couple of those out for some reading this evening.

[sniper7]

I wouldn't waste the money for small claims court. The lawyer can't go with you anyways. The judge will decide everything and take the evidence. Lawyer talk and lawyer cost not necessary.

I would request a copy of your paperwork from the employer.
have all your papers all eidence and ducks in a row when you go in. Respect the judge. Do not talk out of turn and things will go smooth.

[Lex_Luthor]

I started reading the handbook that OneGuy posted a link to, and it's been pretty helpful so far. I'll continue to do some reading. Sniper, my ex boss has been completely uncooperative in every sense of the word, so I'm not sure he would even present me with the paperwork I request. I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to "accidentally lose" it. If that is the case, then I can forsee some jail time for him. I'm even wondering if I'm going to get tax documents from him. This guy has royally screwed himself. I am pretty confident that I'll win my case against him, and I'll be happy with the $200 or so that he owes me, but since I've been given the opportunity to request that he pay more, I want to nail this guy. I am also going to add to the suit amount, court costs and filing fees, as well as a day's pay from my current job because I will most likely have to miss work to go to court.

You just DON'T steal from your employees, and I will not let this guy get away with it. It's bad business practice and he shouldn't have done it in the first place. He was given many opportunities to pay up and he ignored my requests and those of the Department of Labor Standards. So now this lesson is going to be an expensive one for him.

[BigBear]

You just DON'T steal from your employees... It's bad business practice...He was given many opportunities to pay up...


Don't worry my friend! You see, it's the new Obozo Wealth Distribution method! You should feel swell knowing that you helped your boss buy that new 60 inch television he always wanted!

[Swim]

[Lex_Luthor]

I'm pretty sure it was because his business was failing. He was searching for a reason to fire me, and I was definitely NOT quiet about stuff he was doing that I didn't like. We didn't have materials to teach my students (1 book for 2 classes, 6 students total and they should have their own books), we didn't have internet for over a month (I was supposed to pull assignments from the internet if no books available), at one point, the landlord came to talk to him, I hadn't seen my boss in around 2 weeks, so the LL left a sealed envelope and a folded paper for me to give to him. Ex Boss owed the LL over $4k. The other teacher quit a couple months later because the boss no longer could pay him.

[Clint45]

I'm pretty sure it was because his business was failing. . . .we didn't have internet for over a month (I was supposed to pull assignments from the internet if no books available), at one point, the landlord came to talk to him, I hadn't seen my boss in around 2 weeks, so the LL left a sealed envelope and a folded paper for me to give to him. Ex Boss owed the LL over $4k. The other teacher quit a couple months later because the boss no longer could pay him.

Well, if you are awarded a judgment good luck getting paid . . . his bank accounts are likely overdrawn and I'd bet there are a long list of creditors and plaintiffs ahead of you, including state government (who gets paid first).

I'd bet that the "insurance" was not only unauthorized but non-existent. I further predict he fails to appear in court.

[Lex_Luthor]

I doubt his accounts are overdrawn, from what it seems, he and his wife are pretty well off. I guess that's one thing I wonder about as well... Say he shows up and I am awarded a judgement, then how do I collect? Say he doesn't show, then I win right? And still, how do I collect? If he doesn't show up, he's going to have a whole mess of other problems.... I think he's going to be further investigated by the Department of Labor, and if the insurance was indeed non-existent, employers can get royally F'd for not having worker's comp insurance. I heard from a person that basically all I have to do is drop that hint to the Dept of Labor and if they find it's true, there's definitely jail time involved.

[OneGuy67]

Keep reading...your answers are in the pages of the booklet and the websites posted.

[Lex_Luthor]

I got a call yesterday from the founder of the organization that my ex-boss was a franchise owner for. There are some new things going in in this case, I'll fill you all in tomorrow. This guy is going to do some jail time.

[ldmaster]

I scanned, briefly, what I saw. I did a lot of standing around in court as these matters were heard. Just some observations.

1. It doesn't matter how well-off the employer was, if it was an LLC or otherwise a corporation then your claim will be against that corporation. If it was a sole-proprietorship then you can go after him personally. So he can drive up in his mercedes and drive away in his mercedes and you cant touch it unless he had pledged personal assets to the corporation (never happens) or it was a sole-proprietorship (and this is pretty rare too anymore).

2. Small claims court operates under it's own rules, and they are simple FOR A REASON. Being "entitled" to 125% of something in regular court, does not mean you are entitled to it in small claims court. Because a respondents rights are curtailed in small claims, it also means that the full legal panoply of law isn't applicable to him/her. You can ASK, but the court wont award unless the statute specifically addresses small claims actions, which almost none do.

3. You sound more angry than anything, was this money enough to invest your time? Did you let this deduction go on for months on end? I have seen judges throw out portions of a claim because the person asking for the money should have exercised due judgement in stopping the loss after they learned of it. So let's say it was 100 bucks a month and it went on for six months, the judge might not allow the full six months refund because you should have put a stop to it after looking at your pay stub. This is a "right to work" state, he didn't need a reason to fire you - and it wont hold up in courts as an adverse action because you're not claiming that you were discriminated against in any of the illegal forms (race, religion, etc...).



And just because a lawyer cant appear in court, doesn't mean you cant consult one as to what to do!

[Lex_Luthor]

Idmaster, I have consulted a lawyer friend of the family on my fiance's side. I didn't allow this to go on for long, basically, it was a month and a half, 3 paychecks total. One of the reasons he fired me was because I wasn't quiet about what he was doing, I demanded my money, and he let me go because I was butting heads with him. The issue I'm bringing to court isn't about him firing me. It's about insurance fraud and illegal deductions from my paychecks. I know I might not get awarded with everything I ask for, but I'm going to ask for the maximum anyway. I'll be happy with getting repaid the money he owes me, and the rest (if any) is gravy.

He was the insurance broker for Assurant insurance. Turns out, he NEVER submitted any money to insurance, from me, from the other teacher employee, and from the founder. The founder is going after him tooth and nail too. He contacted me and suggested I talk to the Department of Insurance as well as the IRS, because he never submitted tax information either. I got some insight from someone who works in the Department of Labor Standards, and if he didn't have Worker's Comp insurance, there's jail time involved. Since the founder checked with Assurant Insurance, he told me there was NEVER a policy activated with the name of the organization, or with the ex-franchise owner. Well, he (ex-boss, ex-franchise owner) sold the franchise to someone else, and is trying to cut and run. The founder is going to give me his home address, so I will have him served with court papers there.

I won't be surprised at all if he doesn't show up to court. Based on his history with how this has been going, he probably won't. If that's the case, I'll inform the judge that I have claims against him with the Department of Labor, the Department of Insurance and the IRS, and then I'll request a default judgement. THEN I will cross the bridge of collecting from him when I get there.

It's worth it to me to pursue this because he thinks he can just take advantage of people, cut and run, and get away with X amount of money. No way, not as a business owner. I'm going to do everything in my power to help him learn his lesson.