TL;DR. My former employer owes me 3 paychecks. One bounced out of my bank account the other two were never issued. What can I do to get my earnings? I have documentation.
I had what I though was a perfect job. I loved the work, I loved my coworkers and the schedule was flexible with my class load (I'm a college student). I had heard rumors of trouble at the other branches including people not getting paid and inappropriate behavior on the part of the owner(sexual harassments, multiple girlfriends while married, extravagant recreational expenses). I should have quit the moment I caught wind of it but I had never been wronged by an employer before and all of this drama was happening at a branch a state away. When it comes down to it I was a naïve fool.
But then the paychecks stopped being sent to us and pervious checks started bouncing out of our accounts (resulting in bank fees charged to me), we even made the news.
We closed up shop and walked off in protest. We were then given the run around for months on when we might see our owed wages. Nothing ever came, now we are just ignored. I have heard no results out of Division of Labor investigations. I've been told that the amount I'm owed isn't enough to justify a lawyer but $700 makes a huge difference to a full time student like me. I still haven't recovered from the loss. I have all of my paystubs and documentation of the bank charges I faced.
Is there anything I can do?