I am a teacher & have a summer job spaying trees for pine beetles. The tree company I work for pays me a % of the total from each job. I am owed $7000 from those jobs over the summer. My employer is having financial problems & used the money he owed me to pay his bills & now says he can't pay me right now. I am afraid he will file for bankruptcy & not pay me what he owes. He has been promising to pay me for over month but I haven't been yet. What steps should I take to recover my pay?

You can file a wage claim with your state's DOL or file a lawsuit against the employer for wages/commissions due. (You can file a claim in small claims court for up to $7,500 in Co. - above that would be a "higher" court.) If the employer declares bankruptcy, you would need to put in a claim with the bankruptcy court as a creditor along with other creditors the co. owes money to. Whether or not you receive all or part of what is due you would depend on the # of creditors & the assets of the co.