State can help you get back pay due

Does your employer owe you money?

Many of you email or call 5 On Your Side asking for help getting paychecks. Under North Carolina law, your employer, or ex-employer, MUST pay any wages you are owed on the next regularly-scheduled pay period. Pay dates must be scheduled at least once a month.

Even if you are fired or you quit, your employer must still pay you for the time you worked.

If your employer goes out of business – even if they file bankruptcy – you are still entitled to wages. However, typically a bankrupcty judge oversees the process and it becomes more complicated. The rules are relatively simple, yet we continue to hear from people whose employers don’t seem to abide by them.

If you don’t get the pay check you worked for, file a complaint with the North Carolina Labor Department online or call 1-800-NC-LABOR.