If you're getting paid cash, your employer is violating labor laws -- he's paying you cash so he doesn't have to take on the full expense of having an employee... social security taxes and worker's compensation, etc. Because he is ignoring the laws, he is also ignoring the minimum wage law. If you complain to the authorities that he's not paying minimum wage, they will investigate and find out that he's violating a whole raft of labor laws, and probably fine him. You may or may not be able to keep your job after that. If you sued to keep your job, you probably could. But lets just say all of this is going to be a lot of trouble. Your employer knows that, and is counting on your ignorance and complicity to keep the deal going.

You and your employer can be in trouble for not paying taxes. You are not innocent here. Most likely you took the job knowing you could make more per hour at $6/hr without taxes than if you had been paid he previous minimum wage and paying taxes. If you make more than (i think it's) $400/yr from employment or profits from selling item you are responsible for all of your SS taxes (15.3% including Medicare) and your standard federal, state and local wage taxes. Not paying taxes won't land you in jail, but not filing (which you aren't doing) can land you in jail. Your best bet is to find legal employment and take this a lesson learned.

Unless you're a teenager babysitting after school and on weekends, or raking leaves, shoveling snow, etc. as "casual labor" for a suburban homeowner or the like, then HasntBeen is telling you the truth: The employer AND YOU are violating labor and employment laws and evading taxes illegally. The point here is that you are both complicit. If you are working full or part time at an established place of business (forgetting for the moment whether this is a licensed, registered and 'legal' business), then by paying you cash (with no pay stub, no withheld taxes, no W-4 form for you to fill out nor W-2 form to file with the IRS) the employer is evading his responsibility to withhold FICA and income tax from your pay, to match your FICA 'contribution' with an employer 'contribution', and probably avoiding the payment of Federal and State unemployment taxes, as well as others. (It's not illegal or unethical to receive wages as cash, but it's generally indicative of someone who wants to avoid a paper trail because he's deliberately evading his tax liabilities. He's probably committing other so-called white collar crimes as well.) If you're failing to pay your own FICA on this income, and not reporting it (fully) as income on an annual tax return (at least in the US), then you're also guilty of tax evasion. Whether you get a raise or not from your employer under these terms should be the least of your worries.

U have no rights. He can drop you to 4 dollars if he wants to. Besides even if you got paid 5 bux that is fair, cuz they dont take taxes out. Ther is no way hes gonna pay you 7.25. Becuase if you werent getting paid under the table he would be paying you 9+