A friend of mine in Plainville, Massachusetts (near Boston) learned today that the company she works for has gone bankrupt. Her paycheck for the past two weeks bounced, and her bank informed her the paycheck from today would most likely bounce as well. This happened to the employees without direct deposit. The company owners recently sold and the employees were told that the new owners are not responsible. Is there anything my friend and her co-workers can do? I will forward your response to my friend. Needless to say, she is very upset being out 3 weeks pay and having just paid her bills. Any advice or infomation you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Sincerely, MeIDKMOS@aol.com

This is a very complicated question without enough facts to be adequately answered.  The first issue that needs to be determined is whether the company was incorporated?  Second, did the company actually file for bankruptcy, or is the company broke?  Third, how did the new owners acquire the company? I suggest that your friend speak with the attorney representing the company and determine the answers to these questions.  It also would be in your friends interest to talk with her own personal attorney (many attorneys offer free initial consultations) to determine what her rights are. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.