This is a throwaway.
I'm a chemist living in Southern California.
My last employer did not pay me, or any other staff, our August 31st paychecks. They terminated all of us September 23rd and shuttered the lab.
My former colleagues and I have chased every lead we can think of. Labor Day weekend was spent emailing local government officials and I got a myriad of responses. Some helpful, some not.
I have consulted with lawyers. They all say we have a case, they won't take it because of the low potential payout for them- once we get our owed money.
I have complaints in with the appropriate government officials, who are moving very slow with no resolution in sight.
Meanwhile, everything I've built for the last 11 years of my working life I risk losing because of this stupid system with no recourse for workers who get put in this box by the rich elite. The guy who owned the company fucked off to India the day we were supposed to get paid, before they shut it all down.
I'm trying to find work but everyday of existence without a job feels as if I'm adding a other chunk of debt to keep going. I look at the numbers and I don't know how I'm going to recover from this.
One example of my adventures: last night, while getting groceries, I collected a bolt in my tire- the city I live in is doing major road work. I didn't feel safe driving my car in that shape to today's on-site interview so I had to Lyft there and back. $60 down the drain, plus the cost of fixing the tire, whatever that comes out to be.
Edit: numerous typos and clarified a few things. Added info on our boss.