Payroll checks won't cash.

[jmarie]

What does a person do when they're payroll checks won't cash? My son has one (This has been an ongoing problem he was 4 weeks behind at Christmas.)

Today he told his company that when they could pay him his back pay, he would return to work, but that he wasn't working anymore without being paid for it. They said "Well, then, you quit, don't you?" He said "No, I'm not quitting, I just want to be paid and will return to work when paid." So, they came, without a word and picked up his truck.

But didn't make his payroll check good. And didn't pay him for last week.

What should his next step be?

He will really thank you for any information that you can provide.

[blazedog]

You can report the employer to the Federal government as they are in violation of Labor Laws. I had to do this once in high school when I refused to go back to a temporary assignment because they warned me (after the fact) that I should be checking for letter bombs when I opened the mail.

I believe it was the Department of Labor.

As to firing someone because they want to get paid, it is a murkier area. When you speak to the government agency, you should also report that to the Department of Labor (and also whatever State Department of Labor equivalent is) because it is a violation of labor laws -- Most states and the Federal government have very explicit laws regulating how and when a person must be paid.

[Robyn1007]

Call the Department of Labor. It is illegal to not pay someone for work they performed. My guess is when they get a call from an investigator they will pay him.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I'd call the district attorney or sheriff's office about the check. They will prosecute if it's not made good.

[momqat]

When my son had a similar happenstance, he printed out a copy of the state's Attourney General's webpage that defined exactly how long a lag was allowed between working and receiving a paycheck for that work, and what fines/penalties would be levied if not adhered to. It's amazing how quickly and regularly he started receiving his checks after that!!! :rolleyes: ;)

[Beth H]

You can report the employer to the Federal government as they are in violation of Labor Laws.

I wouldn't start with the Feds - I would start with your state Department of Labor. That's the first place to take a wage complaint. Once your son initiates a complaint, then the state Labor department will contact the employer and give them a certain number of days to pay. Unless your son was notified in writing prior to the disputed pay period that he would not be paid (and given cause for why), the employer is obligated to pay him. They also will have to pay a fine to the state labor department. Unfortunately, I know all of this because I worked for a small business that was on the receiving end of a labor dispute.

[jmarie]

As to firing someone because they want to get paid

Well, he was fired, and they are saying that they are going to fight his drawing any unemployment. They say he quit, when he was absolutely adamant that he would return, when he got paid.

He has been taking the check that he has to the issuer's bank, since he received it two or three weeks ago, to see if it would clear, and it didn't, but the bank would never provide him documentation that he had tried. So I deposited it in my account, today. I felt like he needed to make a paper trail at least with that one check. (I bank at same bank as business owner, and we thought it would be quicker in case they are able to come up with some quick cash to cover the check.)

DS was the most loyal employee this company would ever want...Never missed a days work. Went to work so sick sometimes that he had to stop working to go be sick and then back on the job.....On call 24/7 the first two years of work, could never plan on going to a party and drinking or anything, because he never knew when he was going to be called out.....and I can't tell you all of the times the checks bounced. (4 times through December.) But I gues DS has had enough.

He feels now, since he has been fired, it's time to roll up his sleeves and they can just bring it on!

[funniegrrl]

Whenever there is a dispute with an employer, it's REALLY important to put things in writing. His offer to return to work when he got paid back pay should have been in a letter, not just verbal. Otherwise, it's he-said, she-said. They're saying he quit, he's saying he didn't, who's to say otherwise when the conversation wasn't in writing?

As for the bouncing checks, yes, the state labor board is the first place to call. They can also explain his options and give advice about dealing with the rest of it.

[DmOrtega]

...and I can't tell you all of the times the checks bounced. (4 times through December.) But I gues DS has had enough.

He feels now, since he has been fired, it's time to roll up his sleeves and they can just bring it on!

I believe the bank or clearing house should have a copy of the transactions, probably even copies that you can get. The bank the check is drawn on should have a record of the attempts to pay on the check.

[Beth H]

The unemployment and back checks are different issues, I think.

The dispute I was involved with concerned an employee who quit w/o notice and who as it turned out had been doing some things that weren't entirely above-board (although not illegal). My boss wanted to withhold his pay (he was paid on an hourly basis - it was a start-up company). Despite the fact the labor board sympathized with us, we could not withhold his pay for hours he had actually worked prior to his resignation as he had submitted his hours according to our company policies. (And we had not given him prior notice of contesting his hours.) So - we ended up paying him and a fine.

If your son actually worked these hours while employed by the company, he should be paid for them. it was my impression in our dealings with this state's labor board that the burden of proof is on the company - they "side" with the grieving employee unless you can show a reason why he wasn't paid.

The unemployment is a different story, though - I don't know as much about that, but I think if you're fired for cause, you not eligible as you would be if you were laid off.

[Rae]

Something similar happened to my brother when he was in his late teens/early twenties. (I think employers sometimes think people in this age group are powerless or don't know any better.) He went to a lawyer, who said the same thing had happened to him when he was young, and the lawyer wrote a threatening letter. My brother had his money within the week. The lawyer didn't charge my brother for the letter, said it made him feel better about what had happened to him. There are good people in this world!

[mommycook]

I worked for a company that would not pay me. I contacted the Department of Labor and filled out a claim form online. The company had to pay me a late fee for each day I was not paid, plus interest. The did not come to the formal hearing and had the $$ seized. They ended up paying about 5x the amount they originally had to pay, if they had just paind me on time.

[MISSINDI]

Ditto on filing a claim with the Department of Labor. Kudos to your son for standing up to his former employer - that's not right what they're doing. I had a former employer who bounced a paycheck on me, had to file a claim to get paid... ridiculous.