D Vine Farm Labor - no pay? (Donald: attorneys, employment)

[shadowclaw]

Hi all,

So my husband got a seasonal job with D Vine Farm Labor harvesting Christmas trees. He only worked a few weeks, buy it was a 7 day per week job with 10 hour days. He got his first paycheck, but his final paycheck for the last week and a half of work he did never came. Payday was Dec 18, but when we went up to their office in Donald to get it, it was closed. We thought perhaps they had closed early for the holidays and mailed it, but it never came.

The company didn't have a website, but they did have an active Facebook page. However, the page has been deleted and the voicemail at their office number has been full for the past several days when we've both tried calling. I'm inclined to think that the company went under or something, and we're now SOL on the $800+ he's still owed.

The only thing I personally can think of to try and at least figure out what's going on is to have my husband contact the tree farms he worked at and see if they know anything. However, it's not like the farms can do anything. They probably paid D Vine for the work and they have no idea who worked or for how long. I don't think there's even any way to prove that he is owed any money, because D Vine has the records and they could easily be made to disappear.

[jjpop]

That's awful. Nothing worse than losing out on money you worked for and were expecting.

[Larry Caldwell]

Employees in Oregon are well protected by the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). Contact them. They will collect his paycheck for him.

Wage and Hour Division Filing A Wage Claim

[shadowclaw]

Thanks for that link! That's so helpful! I didn't know such a thing existed.

[texasdiver]

I would definitely let the farms know what is going on. They definitely have a vested interest in making sure that workers on their property get properly paid. I'm not sure if the contracting laws work the same in this instance as in construction but they could potentially get liens filed against them by aggressive attorneys.

[Nell Plotts]

A land owner who hires a contractor cannot avoid paying workers.. it is a joint-employment relationship. File with BOLI and maybe with USDL Wage & Hour. The advantage of BOLI is that they collect the agreed rate of pay while Wage & Hour can only collect the minimum wage because your employment is exempt from overtime. The only advantage, from an x-employee's standpoint, is that it is like sicking Pit Bulls on them as they will investigate the employment of all employees. IMHO, take care of your needs first with BOLI and then consider Wage Hour.