<prompt> Human: I worked at an instant oil change place because i needed to save money because i was moving out. Well, anyway long story short; alcoholics, ex-prisoners, and other violent people working there led to me quitting as soon as soon as I had enough money and moved out. I went in 2 weeks later and took my last paycheck from the store and left.Come to find months later, thinking back on it, they still owe me hundreds of dollars so i called them to ask if I was correct and they said yeah... but since many months had passed they sent the check to their main office.I asked to get it back and the franchise manager said hed contact someone. I called a week later and he said their servers are down and they cant contact the area manager. I called again two days later and he said look man. the check is void and i dont feel like dealing with this anymoreI sent an email I had to find on google to my old area manager inquiring about the situation and hes ignored my emails. That kind of behavior from employers is totally illegal right?There should be a way to get my missing wages or at least report them to someone? I dont know if it helps but they also violated a labor law: I was 17 the entire time i worked there 30hrs week sometimes 12 hr days... no work permit ever asked for or obtained... until 3 days before a quit, so theyre or maybe I am in violation of that if I could use that to get my paycheck back?  <response>: That kind of behavior from employers is totally illegal right?Yes. If youre in the U.S., contact your local Department of Labor office. Let them know all about this. Full time work for a minor during school days, working without a work permit, and withholding pay for work completed; these are all potential issues the DoL would love to hear about. Theyre probably breaking more than one law here.If the company isnt working with you to make this right, take it over their heads. Theyre very likely screwing with you because theyre in the wrong, and they figure a 17-year-old will roll over and take it quietly. Know your legal rights! No one but you will fight for them.One last thing you can do before going to the DoL is to contact the companys Human Resources department, as well as the Corporate officeRegional Manager, instead of the Franchise Manager. Theres a good chance this franchise is breaking some rules and corporate isnt aware of it. The franchise may deservedly lose their franchise license. Corporate HR might resolve this issue for you cleanly and quickly to avoid getting dragged into a legal headache with the government. Just be clear that if they cant promptly resolve the issue and have a check mailed out by the end of the week, youre going to have to go through the DoL. It shouldnt take them longer than a week to have this sorted out. 