I am looking to prosecute an employer for a violation of ?61.019 of the Labor Code. Has any one else ever prosecuted such a case? any tips? or copies of indictments? Contact me at 903-408-4112 or by email willie@huntcounty.net

Keith Willeford

I've always told such complainants to go find a labor lawyer, or contact the TWC. I had no idea there was a criminal statute for nonpayment of wages.

I have prosecuted employers before for theft of service(even though that might be a stretch). The labor code requires the intent at the time of hiring, which I have never been able to prove with my facts.

I have used Chapter 162 of the Texas Property Code when there was a failure to pay a construction worker on a real estate project and the contractor had been paid by land owner. However, you probably have a different sort of employee.

You might check with the Office of the General Counsel for the Texas Workforce Commission to see if they can provide assistance to you. Phone numbers are provided. See their web site:

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/lablaw.html

Good luck.

I have prosecuted employers for theft in limited situations where they give a bad payroll check.

Those situations are pretty much limited to the following scenario: Employee gets paycheck at the end of regular pay period, deposits it and continues to report to work. Employee later discovers that paycheck was bad. Employee quits work almost immediately. My theory is that the additional days worked while the employee thought the paycheck was good (and the employer knew it wasn't)are days of labor stolen from the employee.

If the employee comes in with six or a dozen paychecks that he or she took over a long period, we can't really say that the deception contained in the check is what induced him or her to keep working. In that situation, the employee is simply another disappointed creditor. We send them to the TWC then.