I have 3 workers from Bulgaria who are now working for me after leaving their jobs in VA. One of them had a problem with his last pay check and asked me to try to help with the matter. I called the place of employment and asked for a copy of my workers last pay stub, and did not get very far. My workers have told me that they never got pay stubs and that they just got a handwritten check or the amount of hours they worked (no taxes, no overtime). When I asked the owner of the company about the overtime and tax issues he told me that as a seasonal business in VA he did not have to pay overtime. Is this true? And if so, why would the Fed labor laws not superseed this?
Thank you for your time
Paul Giles

Well, I would say first that not withholding taxes, at least FICA and Medicare, is a violation of federal tax law. It might be that these employees did not earn enough each pay period to have federal and/or state income tax withheld, depending on how they completed their W-4 forms (if, in fact, they did, which now that I think about it, might be doubtful). I'll bet the employer doesn't give them a W-2 form at year-end either. Again, a violation of federal employment tax law.

Regarding the overtime, Virginia defaults to federal wage and hour law. There actually is an exception for certain types of seasonal workers; however, the site does not list them specifically and instead, advises the employee call them to determine in their specific situation.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/minwage.htm#who

BTW, I would not give you a copy of "their" paystubs either. Although I know you are trying to help them, you have no legal dog in this fight.

This is a copy of an email I received about a pool management company that brings in international students under false pretenses, and uses them as lifeguards in hotels, etc. around the USA, in a virtual slave labor, and the facts are they have no CPR training, etc. Please let me know what they can do about the reporting of this, and if there are attonreys out there who will represent them pro bono. They are all being threatened about having their visas yanked, and penalties enforced, and they would be thrown out on the street in 24 hoursw, etc. with no money whatsoever, in this foreign country.

Thank you
__________________________________________

i want to thank you for trying to help us (students) sometimes i think
nobody care with us.. when i get back home after work i told to my
friends
about you and they get happy, we apreciatte waht your doing for us.. i
wish
to tel some things about this program , you might get shocked!

when we came to this program they made like a job fair in my country,
this
supose to be a work travel program , we pay about four thousand doll.
to
come here including the program and airplane tickets and the money to
survive here the first month.. total almost 4.

when i chose XXXXXX, i chose because i study phisycal education,
i
wish to increase my resume, i wish to find a second job here in a gym
because will gave me a good experience.. and pools also still good to
increase the resume too..

they said us in XXXXX we will have to pay for uniform 75 dol, and the
lifeguard training and pool operator 175 doll. the nigthmare start
when we
get here, because they put us in one apartment with 5 people, ok, no
problem, they said maximum five, but them come more 2 guys! so we where
7 in
one apartment, they said we will have furnitures.. all the furnitures
that
we have is because we get on the trash.. and the apartment is in very
bad
condition.. i fixed some things here.. but also still in bad
condition..

now will you get shocked.. they said they will give us the training
for
professional life guard and pool operator, they seat us in one room and
them
put a movie four hours duration and that is it.. like a magic i become
a
lifeguard .. and i get the professional rescuer, and the cpr certify
and
most os my friends doesn´t even know how to do a cpr, we responsible
for
lifes.. and if somebody get drawning and get unconscious there is
nothing
they can do because they didn´t teach us nothing .. who is going to be
guilty? i´m glad that i learned how to rescue people when i was in
high
school.. in my country.. but i dont know to much about law, but i know
when
you certified by amercan red cross and you negligency somebody we can
go
jail or being sue.. i care more about my friends in this situation
because
they don´t know how to proced a cpr or rescue..

i try to explain to the sponsor about this, and they just don´t care..
so
there is nothing that we can do.. i said to intrax (sponsor, they find
me
this job) i want to come back home and i had that to listen to they
threatening to cancel mi visa and spot my passport and them i can not
come
back to united states for anymore.. that is very unfair.. so ,
sometimes i
feel like they treat me and my friends like a criminal, i can not leave
the
apartment because i have to pay 700 hundred dol penalty, i can not come
back
home because i signed a contract for four months with the
company
and i can not quit the job and find another one.. because they cancel
my
visa too.. so we have to acomplish with the agreement but they don´t..

well.. sorry to tell you all this things, but that is the real truth,
XXXXX are not a serious company and intrax too.. i m ashamed to tell
you all
this because i feel like i felt in a dirty trick.. ad sorry for the bad
word
but i think i am a fool..

one more time, thanks .. see you in the gym =)