Employer holding back more than one week

I began a new job on March 22nd. I live in New York state. According to New York State Consolidated Laws, Article 6, Payment of wages, sections 190 and 191, I am a manual worker, who "shall be paid weekly & not later than seven calendar days after the end of the week in which the wages were earned".
However, my employer does not seem to fall under the authorization by the commissioner in 191.ii, giving employer ability to pay me bi-weekly. In addition, I was told upon being hired that we were to be paid weekly.
Now I find out, as of this past Friday (3/31) that I was not going to receive my first week's pay (three days worth). Furthermore, I am only going to receive the first weeks pay (3 days worth) on April 7th. When I inquired into why they were doing this, I was told that they hold back an additional 40 hours because they "have had problems in the past with employees doing harm to the business' computers, etc." So not only are they holding back the traditional one weeks worth (get paid this week for last week), but they are holding back another whole week to boot!
I have looked everywhere I can on the internet to find out laws applicable to whether they can legally do this as an employer. I have come up empty and always get routed right back to the same set of laws that I just quoted! Can they legally do this? Looks to me like they are violating NYS Law. Can anyone help me? cant afford atty/Need advice fast, please email me at: [email protected]! That money was earned and I have bills that I cant pay without it!

Contact the NY state dept of employment and labor to see if this is in violation of the state regulations.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by msattorney:
Contact the NY state dept of employment and labor to see if this is in violation of the state regulations.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have done that. Unfortunately, when you call the NYS Labor Division of Wages & Hours,you get a recording. 2 options: Send a letter or request a Complaint Form. I requested a complaint form. I am really just trying to find out, without having a lawyers fee heaped on me, where I can find a regulation/rule/law on the books, which would support employers claim. Hey, if he can do it, then I have no right to complain. But I do not want to complain and put my job in jeapordy either. And I do not want to be unfairly subjected to their "paranoid company rule" of withholding due to past problems with employees. I earned it & deserve it & so do my kids and my creditors! I keep hitting a blank wall for information. I might also add that I got the companyhandbook on 4/5 (started on 3/22) that states: "Payroll: All payroll will be held one week. The pay period runs from Sunday through Saturday. Any questions concerning payroll may be addressed to management. Included with everypay check you will receive a paystub showing all deductions and additions to your net pay. Overtime needs to be pre-approved, and is paid at time-and-half for over forty hours". It says ZIP re: holding add'l. "40 hours"!!!! Perhaps you have more information regarding possible links to sites/libraries, etc. Is there anybody out there who can point me to right spot? I spoke to an attorney at "advicelive.com", but unfortunately, he/she was from CA!! I cannot afford an attorney without being paid, and I might add that I make in excess of $340 take home p/wk, have two kids, and haven't seen a "full" paycheck in over 2 1/2 weeks! Any help would be appreciated!

ok, you might want to try your local bar association to see if they have a volunteer lawyer program. I don't know if legal aid would be willing to help.

Also, you might want to try www.law.cornell.edu to see whether thay link to any sites with NY labor laws

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lguidance:
ok, you might want to try your local bar association to see if they have a volunteer lawyer program. I don't know if legal aid would be willing to help.

Also, you might want to try www.law.cornell.edu to see whether thay link to any sites with NY labor laws<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Thank you, Lguidance, for the web address. Perhaps I will find something. As a footnote to this, I just found out Sunday, that the first full week I worked (2nd wk w/company) (I was in the Federal Building.): I was told by someone that I should have been making/being paid "prevailing wage"...as in rate pay. Since I had previously worked for a company that had county/state contracts, there were times I had been paid "rate pay". When I inquired into this, my current boss told me it didn't apply. Well, my coworker, hired 3 days after me quit due to not getting his paycheck at end of his 2nd week. Guess what. He, brave soul, went back to the Federal Building where we worked (we were re-wiring the Attorney General Offices and his assistants) and inquired about this. This Attorney General has taken my coworker under his wing and is investigating this for us!! Seems that "prevailing wage" in a Federal Building is about $22-25 per hour depending on where you are, and we were not "making" that. This employer is committing Federal Wage Fraud now. And this guy is gonna get fined big time for EACH offense if found guilty at a hearing/court procedure ($500 minimum to $20k maximum for EACH offense and up to 1 yr in prison for EACH offense) Guess what, every employee he "screws" out of rate pay, even though the federal government is paying him that, is considered an offense. And I, at this point, don't have to do a thing to get my wages earned! I am still there, and still working, and my name doesn't have to be filed on my very own wage complaint form now. Now it's just a waiting game. I will keep you posted as to the outcome of this so you can pass on this knowledge to some other unfortunate souls who are getting less than they should from employers who think they are above the law!

Although breaks, and beards and bathrooms are important, they pale in comparison to not being paid fairly for honest work and following the rules. Sexual harrassment is important, yes it is, but then, they may still be getting what they earned every week. This guy feels he has the right, as many employers do, to just pick and choose who and when they will be paid!!! And lets face it, we don't get up every morning to go to work and not be paid...bottom line is all about money.....mine, yours, theirs, everyones. That's why we go to work!!

Stop referring tto the "bathroom lady" in your woes. I was so embarrassed I had the site administrator erase all my postings.

You have your problems and I have mine. I have already reported one poster for his sarcasm. Thank you, and forget about the beards and the hair too,