How Do I Collect Wages Owed for Trucking Employment?
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer will depend in part on whether you were an employee and whether a federal contract was involved. Federal contractors have a responsibility to pay workers in accordance with federal law and the U.S. Department of Labor may enforce actions against employers. If you were an employee, you might try contacting the wage and hours department of the state labor board to inquire about enforcement of violations of payday laws. Otherwise, a breach of contract claim may be filed.
See also:
http://blog.laborlawcenter.com/2007/08/22/california-trucking-company-forks-over-14-million-for-wage-violations/
A lawsuit is begun by filing a complaint and serving a copy on the defendant. A certificate of service is attached to the complaint to prove a copy was served on the defendant. You may inquire with the clerk of courts how many copies of the complaint are required to be filed, as procedures vary by local court. All of the statutes that apply to your case will depend on all the facts in your situation. We are prohibited from giving legal advice, as this service provides information of a general legal nature.
Where to file will depend on where defendant resides or conducts business, and the dollar limit of the local small claims court. Venue is typically proper where the defendant resides, conducts business, where a contract is formed, where an accident occurs, or where the contract provides for the case to be brought. Typically, a defendant needs to have minimum contacts with the forum to pass due process requirements for being served with a complaint. Due process requires it to be reasonably foreseeable that a person would be called to defend in that court.
In personam jurisdiction is obtained when the respondent/ defendant is properly served with a summons and complaint either by certified mail, by personal service, or by publication (only rarely used and only when the address of the respondent/defendant is unknown). An out-of-state defendant may be served with the complaint under a state's long-arm statute if the requirements for exercising long arm jurisdiction and due process requirements are met. If the defendant is out of state, due process requires that they must be shown to have contacts in the forum state of such a nature that they could reasonably foresee being sued in that state. Whether minimum contacts exist so that the court has personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant is a determination made based upon the facts and circumstances in each case. Minimum contacts can be established by consent where a party signs a contract with a forum selection clause, agreeing to litigate in a specified forum. If minimum contacts don't exist, the defendant must be sued in the state where they reside or regularly conduct business.
In order to serve a defendant with the state's long arm statute, the defendant must have minimum contacts with the state. Minimum contacts can consist of either some type of systematic and continuous contact with the forum ("general jurisdiction"), or isolated or occasional contacts purposefully directed toward the forum ("specific jurisdiction"). A single contact can suffice to establish personal jurisdiction, but where jurisdiction is based on a single contact, the nature and quality of the contact is determinative. The principal test of foreseeability in a due process analysis "is that the defendant's conduct and connection with the forum state are such that he should reasonably anticipate the possibility of defending a suit in the forum. Ownership of property in the state may satisfy this requirement.
We can assist you with searching to locate forms or we can draft or add forms you may need to our database. However, we cannot advise you to use one particular form over another. We can show you what is available. You may order the form online or by phone by calling Toll Free: 1-(877) 389-0141 between 8:30am and 5:00pm Central Time Zone Monday – Friday.