He did not have you fill out a W-2 form. A W-2 form is u201cissuedu201d to all employees at the end of a calendar year, which summarizes all of an employeeu2019s earnings and related income tax deductions made throughout the year. It is used as part of the information required to prepare a personal income tax return for employed individuals.If anything, assuming you are a new employee, he very likely had you fill out a W-9 form. This is a pretty standard procedure. It basically is a request for you to divulge your social security number so that a W-2 form can be issued to you at the end of the year. This information part of the information that will appear on an informational return submitted to the IRS, when your W-2 earnings are transmitted to them.That is the part that does make sense.The part that doesnu2019t make sense is why you were asked to fill out a W-9, yet are being paid with personal checks.If this is happening, in most cases, it would appear that he is paying u201cunder the table.u201d I suspect no income taxes of any kind are being withheld.If I am correct, I would seriously think about leaving the company. This practice is illegal.Normally what happens is that a company paycheck is issued. State and federal income taxes are withheld from your gross pay and are forwarded on to local and federal government on your behalf. This is not happening from what youu2019ve described.Additionally, an employer must match the amounts withheld for social security and medicare and submit that match as well, again, on your behalf.It sounds like none of that is happening, if heu2019s cutting a personal check to pay you.Additionally, there are employment laws (both federal and state) which require an employer to pay overtime based on the number of hours worked. Typically, this is over 40 hours worked in a week or over eight hours worked in a day. Each state has different laws, so Iu2019m not sure which applies to you.If you are being paid no overtime and are working 12u201314 hours daily for five or more days a week, that is the second law your employer has broken. By law, you are entitled to fair overtime compensation, so it is something you might consider seeing a labor attorney about (to claim what is rightfully yours).Of course, I cannot say (and am not saying) for sure what is happening, but that is the appearance of what it looks like to me, based on what youu2019ve described.