Give Me My Fucking W-2!!!

The BBQ Pit
1

Some of you may remember me from this thread about my (now former) employers. Thanks to some proding from the good people in my life and some good people on this board, I got myself out of that hell hole of a job, and have moved on to work for a nice Buisness Management firm that pays me well and just gave me a raise because I have been doing such good work :D. (I didn’t have to ask for it or anything!) I thought that the day I quit was the last day that I was ever going to have to deal with the bastards at that art gallery…but I forgot about tax season.

You see, I still have not gotten my W-2 form for 2006. (I also never recieved a final paycheck from the fuckers, but considering how it would have probably bounced I am going to let that go…for now.) I need to file my taxes, I should have had my W-2 by February 15th at the very latest, and now I don’t know what to do.

I called and left a message at the gallery. No response. I sent 2 emails. No response. Finally I called the owners at home:

“Oh, there was a glitch in our accounting software. Sorry, we haven’t gotten anyone their W-2 form yet. Give us a week and we should be able to get it to you.”

It really isn’t my problem that they are having trouble with their accounting software, and sure as shit the IRS isn’t going to give a damn if I try and tell them that I can’t file because “my former employers encountered a computer glitch.”

But I am a nice guy, I said I would give them a week.

This was back on February 20th.

I have reached the end of my rope, I have been MORE than kind and far too forgiving. I don’t know what I need to do, but I want to shut their fucking buisness down for their illegal accounting practices nevermind thier illegal treatment of their employees.

Did you know that they don’t pay overtime? That if you are not salleried you don’t get any paid time off? That they don’t really allow employees to take lunch breaks (they say that they do, but the last person to regularly take more that a 20 minute lunch break was fired 6 months into his time there for “not working hard enough or being a team player”). I have personally had 12 out of 24 paychecks bounce in 2006, and now that I am gone I find that this is true of not only me, but of EVERYONE THAT WORKS THERE!

These people are fuckers of the worst order, but you know what, if they would have just given me my goddamn W-2 form I would have forgotten all about them by now.

I don’t know what I can do to make this bite them as hard as they deserve, and in all honesty I probably won’t do anything. The IRS has a form I can file so I can do my taxes without a W-2. It is a headache, but I can file. But it kills me that they are just going to keep getting away with bullshit like this. This is in the pit because this is 90% rant, but this is still the dope… so, if anyone has any suggestions as to who I can talk to so I can make sure they don’t continue their pattern of abusive/illegal behavior… let me know.

2

If you know of any illegal activities, like tax fraud or widespread pirating of software, drop a dime on them. Most of the tips received by the IRS come from ex-employees and ex-wives.

3

If you call the IRS at 18008291040, they can fax you over what they have on record as your W2. You don’t need to fill anything out, just tell them who you are, verify some info, explain the situation. DO NOT LET THEM MAIL IT (they will take forever). Insist on having them fax it- if the person wont do it, just call back and speak to someone again.

Oh and to speed through the phone system, put in your social security number, but when it says “Press 1 for blah blah” don’t press anything. You’ll still have to wait, but it’ll be quicker and less frustrating.

If they don’t show anything on file, your crappy ex bosses haven’t done their legal end- help the IRS nail them.

4

Man, they suck. I assume you have reported the abuse to California Department of Labor?

5

No, it didn’t even occur to me. Interesting thought though.

6

Look closely at your S.S. information also and make sure they paid in what needed to be paid in for the period you worked for them. This is a bit lower priority than the W2 forms and unpaid wages from the last week and them not paying overtime. Pin them to the mat on every illegal thing they’ve done. The government will go after them like a pit bull on the wages and any tax problems they are causing. There is an appropriate agency to call on the overtime problem and the unpaid last check. I can’t think of it, but will post if I remember. Department of Labor?

7

Deadline for Sending Forms W-2
Generally, the IRS requires employers to mail Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, to their employees on or before January 31. For tax-year 2005, the required mailing date is January 31, 2006. If you still have not received a Form W-2 within a reasonable number of days after January 31, 2006, you should contact your employer. If a Form W-2 is not provided in a reasonable time, you may use payroll stubs to determine the income from that employer for income tax purposes. The information from the payroll stubs can be used to complete Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, Etc.

Generally, the IRS requests you wait at least until February 15 before filing with a substitute Form W-2.

http://www.jacksonhewitt.com/?ResourcesLibraryTopicsReturn

I can’t vouch for the sites accuracy, but it sounds right.

8

Also if you find out they have not paid the state, drop a dime on them. After prop 13 the Franchise Tax board makes the IRS look like Pollyanna. The have been know to send a marshal in to seize every dime that goes into a cash register. :smiley:

9

Yeah, seriously, get the Department of Labor on the horn. Tell them every little thing, including bounced pay checks, unpaid overtime as an hourly employee, not sending that last paycheck, anything else you can think of or find. (Check that your social security and other payroll taxes were paid, and federal and state wildholdings properly documented.) Even here in New York, where the laws are much less on the worker’s side, the Department of Labor went after a business which was abusing a friend of mine similarly, and ended up getting him nearly two months pay in unpaid overtime. He didn’t even have any documentation of his overtime hours, he just had to tell them how much he had worked. Do it now.

mischievous