Sushi worker owed 11 weeks of pay

A woman hired to make sushi says she is owed at least 11 weeks of pay. When she complained about the problem, she says she was fired. Now York Cheng is Counting on 8 for some answers.

"I waited 13 weeks, very long," Cheng said.

And when she finally got her check, it bounced. Cheng made sushi at the Groton Stop & Shop. She was a subcontractor for Ani Sushi, who wrote the rubber paycheck.

"Six days later she call me, she say the check leave in there, don't deposit yet. I said I wait six days, of course I already deposited it," Cheng said.

And she already wrote her own checks, which meant bounced check fees.

"Total be like about over $300," Cheng said.

Cheng says a new check was eventually issued, but she's never received another one. $27,000 - eleven weeks of work - she's supposed to be paid every three weeks.

"But she didn't get to me every three weeks. It's always late," Cheng said.

Cheng does not have any beef with Stop & Shop, it's with the sushi vendor. She says Stop & Shop pays the vendor, the vendor just doesn't pay her. And she says when she told Stop & Shop what was happening, the vendor fired her.

"He came by and he say terminate fee. I had to pay $1,500," Cheng said.

What does Ani Sushi have to say about this? News Channel 8 called the Norton, Massachusetts office, but we couldn't get through. Next, we left a message on her boss's cell phone.

Cheng says she's gotten a lot of support from others at the store and she decided to speak up for others.

"If I don't complain right now, they say they treat other people the same," Cheng said.

The state Department of Labor says if the person is a subcontractor, not an employee, they would have to sue to get their money back. But we're also told sometimes even people with a contract are actually employees depending on certain conditions of their work. The department plans to meet with Cheng next week.