What to do if the company I was working for closed its doors and the owners dissolved the corporation butthey still owe me 100 hours of vacation pay?
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What to do if the company I was working for closed its doors and the owners dissolved the corporation butthey still owe me 100 hours of vacation pay?
The owners also filed personal bankruptcy. Can I collect the pay due to me in Missouri? After the closed they made an asset only sale of the contents of the company.
Asked on December 1, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) If the sale of the company was asset only, the new owners would not be liable to you for the vacation pay (unless you can show that the sale was pretext or fraud--e.g. the company was sold to a company owned by the former owners, specifically to avoid lawful obligations).
2) If the company had been a corporation or LLC, you can't sue the owner(s) for the business's debt. If it was a partnership or sole proprietorship, you may be able to sue any owner(s).
3) Even if you could sue the owner(s), a personal bankruptcy would likely prevent you from recovering most, if not all, of the debt--an obligation to pay employees is an unsecured debt.
4) If the company still exists in some form and has some assets (e.g. some money in the bank; some equipment; some money owed to it--accounts receivable, that is--land or vehicles, etc.) you may be able to collect from it, even if it has closed its doors.
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