Convincement to defer part of compensation has been a common practice for the last 2-3 years. In total, wages and deferred compensation of about usd$300k is owed to current and ex-employees, local and remote (out of country), with claims that the company still owes payroll taxes with no timeline commitment for backpay.

This comes unexpected and last-minute, with zero severance as well. Unlike other founders/companies who keep their runway transparent and assist (ex)employees to move onto other companies, we were expected to either keep working without pay or to leave. Needless to say, those with kids/family would face some tough times with the unexpected situation.

What are our options, for ex-employees both local and remote?