WHAT TO KNOW IF YOUR BOSS TRIES TO PAY YOU “UNDER THE TABLE”

June 10, 2015

Christopher Anderson

If your boss is paying you under the table, he or she is probably presenting it as something done for your benefit. After all, if taxes aren’t being deducted from your paycheck, that makes your paycheck fatter. Unfortunately, there are all kinds of drawbacks for you too, and the real reason your boss isn’t paying you probably has more to do with saving on insurance and taxes than it does with trying to benefit you.

Your employer should be paying unemployment insurance, social security taxes, and workers compensation. If they aren’t, it’s also possible that they aren’t paying minimum wage or overtime either. And not only are workers in circumstances like this being cheated out of current wages; they are likely to find collecting unemployment difficult and they are not accumulating social security funds.  Of course, employers who do this also expose you to potential tax liabilities because of not doing the withholding on your income that they are supposed to.

A common dodge is for an employer to pretend that employees are independent contractors.  Employers who pay in cash are taking the situation even further. They’re usually pretending they don’t have employees at all. If you feel your boss is trying to save money by paying you under the table, talk to an employment lawyer about your options, or consider filing a complaint with the Department of Labor or IRS. You should also keep track of the hours you work so you have some documentation if at a later point you want to collect unemployment or back wages that are unpaid.

If you are being paid “under the table” by your employer, please contact us today. As an employee you have many rights and benefits under the law, and we can help you figure out whether any of these rights are being violated. We offer a completely free and confidential consultation, so you don’t have to worry about your boss or anybody else finding out. And even if he or she did, it’s illegal to retaliate against you for pursuing your lawful wage rights.

You work too hard to be cheated out of your wages. Please contact us today to learn more!