I’m actually asking this for my wife. Her former employer screwed her out of her last paycheck by claiming ,with no proof, that she was stealing. Can they do this? She tried speaking to them several times. She had a 20 min. meeting with them and afterwards he said he will mail the check tomorrow. He didn’t. She called him a couple times after that and he said the same thing. I called a couple times and he said he would send it but he didn’t. It is a small amount of money but it pisses me off that they get away with this (they have done this to other people). All of this did happen over a few months ago so I don’t know if there is anything we can do at this point. If there is, who can I contact.
At first I thought that it would be the better bus. bureau but at their internet site it seems that they are only for consumer complaints. Then I tried the Dept. of Labor and I couldn’t find anything.
If you were in Michigan, you’d contact the Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services - Bureau of Employment Relations.
What I did was look in the phone book under governmental listings, for State departments.
I assumed (incorrectly) that it was still called the labor department. Couldn’t find it under ‘l’, so started back from the start.
If you’re a US citizen, you would contact your state governmental listings to try and find something that said ‘employment relations’ or something similar.
good luck.
(By the way, if my past experience with this is any example, it takes months for the $$ to come).
It doesn’t matter if she’s a citizen of the US. She’s a legal resident, was legally employed. The issue (for the state to get involved) is an employers’ misconduct.
If it is for less than $2000*, just open a case against the company in small claims court–you don’t even need an attorney.
the amount may vary from state to state. The civil court in your municipality will tell you whether or not you can open a small claims court case for the amount in question or if it is too high.
That sounds totally illegal. The money she is owed is for services rendered while she was employed there. She has that coming to her. If the employer suspects theft on her part then they need to have charges brought & get her formally accused & convicted in court.
For them to determine that she is guilty of stealing & then determine that her “fine” or punishment is equal to her final paycheck is tantamount to them enforcing law, imposing a verdict & declaring a fine for restitution. :mad:
IANAL, but I would guess that the OP could be restated as: “Is my wife’s employer allowed to take the law into their own hands?” They can press theft charges, they can (almost certainly) sue for damages, but I doubt that they can play kangaroo court and withold your wife’s pay as a “judgement”.
They may have a right to do this if your wife agreed to it as terms of employment (do you have the latest copy of the employee handbook?), but those terms might be illegal. Again, I don’t know the situation, I don’t know the law in your state, and IANAL.
I’d at least get a reading of all relevant laws from either the department of labor in Massachusetts, the state attorney general’s office, the state bar or a lawyer. Something like this may be written into law, and you may be entitled to damages (or double or treble damages) plus court costs. If you are entitled by law to sue for court costs, then by all means get a lawyer. It’s worth it.
This sounds like a clear cut case. Either they have a copy of your wife’s check (cashed or at least in sequence with the rest of the payday checks) or they don’t. If their actions aren’t allowed in Boston, then they have to pay.
The more I think about it, the more I think the employer is in deep doo-doo. Your wife is supposed to get at least a pay stub indicating that wages have been garnished or withheld for whatever reason. I mean, what is her W2 going to say about income for last year? (did this all happen in 2000?)
It would be great if you could get them to send you something in writing stating their position & reasons. Maybe you could lure them by saying that you’re OK with this but just need to see it all in writing (maybe for immigration resaons- wink wink). Then high-tail it to the Attorney General.
I would have to agree with Attrayant on this. First off, she’s legally entitled to the wages for the job she performed. If she was stealing, IF, then the company should file charges and prosecute, and recoup their losses through restitution, through the courts. Otherwise what they are doing is blatantly illeagal, and I would definately get into contact with the Attorney General’s office, esp. if as you said, this has happened to other people who have worked for this company.
Small claims court it. The neat thing about Small Claims AFAIK, is that you win if they don’t show up. And if they do show up, then all that nasty stuff about proof and pay stubs and all of that can come into play. Take them to court. In Colorado a filing costs $25 (a few years ago that is).
in most states, anyway. wring was on the money. I can’t imagine there’s a state which doesn’t have labor laws. In most if not all states, the Department of Labor (or whatever the name is) would be the primary contact, and the one which would lead to the fastest resolution. The AG would most likely just refer you to them, anyway.
I suppose small claims court could be a way to go, but of course, not every state has a small claims court.
