<prompt> Human: Hi, First job I ever had, I signed a 3-4 month contract, done it, I go to get paid, I get an envelope with a thank you note and 40 less than what my contract stated for in cash I assume in order to not pay taxes. They paid the 3 months together. Silly me, I waited till I left to open it and then I was too scared of going back inside. The money is not much, and I cant really afford suing them. I am a bit disappointedemotionally affected by this, I was so excited to hang the first check on the wall for my first job, and now I feel so disappointed this will always be the experience I had with my first job. Should I just let go and move on? So lost.. Thank you. Thanks. Assistant: No.1 Go talk with them with your contract. Make it clear that your contract said X amount and the cash received was Y amount. Get in writing what they are claiming and what you are claiming. 2 If that doesnt work Go to your state DoL and put in a wage claim for the deficiency. Im not sure whether you should deposit the money or not but prepare a papertrail so you can back up your claims.3 if the DOL does not work File in SMALL CLAIMS COURT A small claims will cost you maybe 100 dollars and time at court.If you were a 1099 contractor and NOT an employee skip the Department of Labor and go straight to small claims. Be aware that you likely will have trouble getting your 1099W-2 for tax purposes. Human: Thank you very much. I am very young, and have no idea how to do any of this, had no idea a small claims court even existed, also I have no one in my family that could help me, but I will try to follow your advice, Im really scared, so I may need a day or two to relax, I really didnt expect any of this to happen to me... Lets see what other people say...  <response>: If you were an employee you would have filled out a I-9 Form andor a W-4 form.If you were a contractorYou would have filed a W-9 Form If you find you were a contractorGo to them and ask your total compensation numbers for Tax Estimate purposes. I am assuming the numbers are over 600 dollars if its 3 months. This will assuming they are stupid, give you written evidence of what they paid you. You can compare that against your contract before going to step 1.I was very aggressive here but DO NOT BE AGGRESSIVE. Be polite as possible and not confrontational until you know for sure that they purposely messed up. 