No final paycheck from previous employer

Tin_Man

I recently landed a new job and I'm loving it.. So much to learn and new to play with

I was set to receive my final paycheck today from my previous employer, alas direct depoist. SO when I look in my bank account this morning. I see it has not be put into my account. I call my old manager who informs me that they hold onto the final paycheck and that I would have to pick it up after work. (ok... not a big deal. but ok) As there is an 1hr distance between where I work and where I used to work. I confirm that my check is in fact there for me to pick up (I don't want to drive if it's not there) So I find out to my surprise that there is NO paycheck there for me.... Hmmm. I try and get in touch with HR but surprise surprise he took the day off... I phone my manager back to find out what's going on. I haven't heard back and its been 2hrs now...

Anyone have similar experinces?

FYI. not that it matters, but like a lot of ppl I live paycheck to paycheck and have bills due. So not getting my check today is begining to stress me out.

RobertKaucher

That's standard practice. I've never worked at a place that deposits the final pay check. Even though it is common HR people should inform employees during the exit interview.

NetAdmin2436

Not only did I not receive my last paycheck from my last employer, but it was 5 weeks before I received my first paycheck. Talk about stress! Every paycheck was late and the owner came up with all kinds of excuses why. It was for a tiny IT consultant firm with a hot head compulsive liar for an owner. Long story short, I didn't pursue my last paycheck (it was only for 1 week) because I couldn't stand to look at the owner anymore.

Hopefully your ex employer was better than mine.

eMeS

Tin_Man wrote: »

I recently landed a new job and I'm loving it.. So much to learn and new to play with

I was set to receive my final paycheck today from my previous employer, alas direct depoist. SO when I look in my bank account this morning. I see it has not be put into my account. I call my old manager who informs me that they hold onto the final paycheck and that I would have to pick it up after work. (ok... not a big deal. but ok) As there is an 1hr distance between where I work and where I used to work. I confirm that my check is in fact there for me to pick up (I don't want to drive if it's not there) So I find out to my surprise that there is NO paycheck there for me.... Hmmm. I try and get in touch with HR but surprise surprise he took the day off... I phone my manager back to find out what's going on. I haven't heard back and its been 2hrs now...

Anyone have similar experinces?

FYI. not that it matters, but like a lot of ppl I live paycheck to paycheck and have bills due. So not getting my check today is begining to stress me out.

I don't know how it works in Canada, but in most US states there are laws that protect employees in this situation. Generally a final paycheck cannot be held for any reason, and deductions beyond those which are normal and approved (taxes, 401k, etc..) are not allowed by law.

I can't imagine that Canada has less stringent laws to protect employees in this case...

At this point I would give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to a misunderstanding. Get the mailing address of your manager and the HR person, and send some type of certified mail requesting your final paycheck immediately. Reference whatever law it is you have in Canada that protects employees in this situation.

The important thing is to first give them the benefit of the doubt, and to second begin to establish an audit trail if that should be necessary.

MS

GAngel

Its probably in the form of a check they mailed to you.

undomiel

In my experience the final check has always been mailed. I would check your local laws as to the time frame for when they're supposed to get it to you. Any paperwork you got from HR may have the details of when/how the final check is to reach you as well.

dynamik

NetAdmin2436 wrote: »

Long story short, I didn't pursue my last paycheck (it was only for 1 week) because I couldn't stand to look at the owner anymore.

I was in a similar situation. MS, do you have any advice for how to actually go about getting compensated in these types of circumstances? There's no HR department to go to. Now that I'm across the entire country, it seems like trying to retrieve a couple grand will take more time and money than would be worthwhile.

RobertKaucher

eMeS wrote: »

I don't know how it works in Canada, but in most US states there are laws that protect employees in this situation. Generally a final paycheck cannot be held for any reason, and deductions beyond those which are normal and approved (taxes, 401k, etc..) are not allowed by law.

I can't imagine that Canada has less stringent laws to protect employees in this case...

At this point I would give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to a misunderstanding. Get the mailing address of your manager and the HR person, and send some type of certified mail requesting your final paycheck immediately. Reference whatever law it is you have in Canada that protects employees in this situation.

The important thing is to first give them the benefit of the doubt, and to second begin to establish an audit trail if that should be necessary.

MS

They are not holding the check as in not allowing him to have the money, they are holding the check at the office requesting that he pick it up. It's just a matter of who has the dang thing, I imagine. It does not sound like money is being kept from him, just that some one there doesn't know what is going on and no one informed the OP of what to do.

msteinhilber

dynamik wrote: »

I was in a similar situation. MS, do you have any advice for how to actually go about getting compensated in these types of circumstances? There's no HR department to go to. Now that I'm across the entire country, it seems like trying to retrieve a couple grand will take more time and money than would be worthwhile.

I had a situation arise once where I was refused the full amount of my pay. I just contacted my state's Dept. of Workforce Development and after about a month I had a paycheck.

NinjaBoy

It must be a North America/Canada thing. In all the places I've worked, your last pay will/is delivered the same way as your previous pays. Eg if you were paid by cheque, then your last pay will be paid by cheque. If you were paid by BACS (electronic transfer to bank account), that's how you will be paid.

-Ken

dave0212

NinjaBoy wrote: »

It must be a North America/Canada thing. In all the places I've worked, your last pay will/is delivered the same way as your previous pays. Eg if you were paid by cheque, then your last pay will be paid by cheque. If you were paid by BACS (electronic transfer to bank account), that's how you will be paid.

-Ken

Agree, always had my last pay paid directly to my account as normal

eMeS

RobertKaucher wrote: »

They are not holding the check as in not allowing him to have the money, they are holding the check at the office requesting that he pick it up. It's just a matter of who has the dang thing, I imagine. It does not sound like money is being kept from him, just that some one there doesn't know what is going on and no one informed the OP of what to do.

Actually, I understood the post to say that he went to the office and there was no check for him.

I agree though, I don't think it's easy to conclude that the money is being purposefully kept/held at this point, rather, it is more likely a miscommunication.

The other point is that employers should treat their employee's wages very seriously....IMO, this type of miscommunication is completely unacceptable, especially when considering that the OP had to travel quite a distance only to find out that there was no check for him. Better to plan and prepare for the worst than to just assume the best in cases like these.

MS

eMeS

dynamik wrote: »

I was in a similar situation. MS, do you have any advice for how to actually go about getting compensated in these types of circumstances? There's no HR department to go to. Now that I'm across the entire country, it seems like trying to retrieve a couple grand will take more time and money than would be worthwhile.

Two things I can offer:

1) Is there a state employment agency in MN? If so, they generally take these things very seriously and you could report it through that channel. In Texas it's called the "Texas Workforce Commission".

2) You can have an attorney write a letter to them demanding payment and threatening legal action. I know one who will do it for you, but this will cost in the neighborhood of $200-$300.

MS

eMeS

NinjaBoy wrote: »

It must be a North America/Canada thing. In all the places I've worked, your last pay will/is delivered the same way as your previous pays. Eg if you were paid by cheque, then your last pay will be paid by cheque. If you were paid by BACS (electronic transfer to bank account), that's how you will be paid.

-Ken

It's more of an employer policy thing. In fact here in Texas, and in Mass. I know of no state law that specifies how final pay is disbursed, only that it be disbursed within a certain time period. I've seen it mailed, require in-person pickup, or direct-deposited.

MS

veritas_libertas

eMeS wrote: »

It's more of an employer policy thing. In fact here in Texas, and in Mass. I know of no state law that specifies how final pay is disbursed, only that it be disbursed within a certain time period. I've seen it mailed, require in-person pickup, or direct-deposited.

MS

My experience has been in-person pickup, and a required signing of a form stating that I did indeed get my last check.

RobertKaucher

eMeS wrote: »

Actually, I understood the post to say that he went to the office and there was no check for him.

I agree though, I don't think it's easy to conclude that the money is being purposefully kept/held at this point, rather, it is more likely a miscommunication.

The other point is that employers should treat their employee's wages very seriously....IMO, this type of miscommunication is completely unacceptable, especially when considering that the OP had to travel quite a distance only to find out that there was no check for him. Better to plan and prepare for the worst than to just assume the best in cases like these.

MS

No, you are correct. I just think the HR guy has it and nobody else is aware of what is going on. I just think it's a lack of professionalism, not that they are trying to keep from paying him.

dynamik

eMeS wrote: »

Two things I can offer:

1) Is there a state employment agency in MN? If so, they generally take these things very seriously and you could report it through that channel. In Texas it's called the "Texas Workforce Commission".

2) You can have an attorney write a letter to them demanding payment and threatening legal action. I know one who will do it for you, but this will cost in the neighborhood of $200-$300.

MS

Yea, the only downside is that I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any money. About half the calls we were getting were creditors asking for money. I'd probably just be told to get in line.

eMeS

dynamik wrote: »

Yea, the only downside is that I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any money. About half the calls we were getting were creditors asking for money. I'd probably just be told to get in line.

And that's ok....should his situation end in bankruptcy you should be first in line, as unpaid wages typically get paid first.

MS

blargoe

Weren't you a stakeholder in that company dynamik? If so, you might not be as high up on the list as you might think. My first job owed me a good amount of money... and I left in 2003. Biggest reason was late paychecks outweighed the potential that I thought the company had at the time. Well, soon later, they were going bankrupt, and in North Carolina my unpaid wages were considered unsecured debt from what I can remember. I was about 4th from the bottom in order of who got paid on the list of all their creditors. Best they could do was talk to the accountant about getting me a unpaid wages statement so it could be written off on my taxes. And I finally lost touch with those people and I never saw that either.

eMeS

blargoe wrote: »

Weren't you a stakeholder in that company dynamik? If so, you might not be as high up on the list as you might think. My first job owed me a good amount of money... and I left in 2003. Biggest reason was late paychecks outweighed the potential that I thought the company had at the time. Well, soon later, they were going bankrupt, and in North Carolina my unpaid wages were considered unsecured debt from what I can remember. I was about 4th from the bottom in order of who got paid on the list of all their creditors. Best they could do was talk to the accountant about getting me a unpaid wages statement so it could be written off on my taxes. And I finally lost touch with those people and I never saw that either.

Interesting...what do you mean by "stakeholder"? If it's what I think you mean then that could definitely change things, but that also means you're talking about something other than what the bankruptcy code defines as "wages".

For unpaid wages the magic number is generally when they were earned relative to the bankruptcy. Anything 6 months before filing will be a priority claim paid before unsecured debt, whereas earnings within the 6 month window would likely be some combination of priority and unsecured claim. As I remember the priority claim limitation for unpaid wages is $10k, so anything above $10k would be unsecured and hence low on the payout list.

Additionally, this year one of the US courts ruled that a organization's managers can be held personally liable for wages not paid to employees before a bankruptcy.

Think about that for a minute.....By virtue of simply being a manager in an organization you could be held personally liable for wages that the company did not pay its employees. This is one of many reasons that it is important that if you are a manager you make sure that your people get the pay that they've earned!

Also, probably fair to clarify...should Dynamik's former employer go bankrupt, he wouldn't exactly be first in line. Uncle Sugar would be first, followed by whatever attorneys have their hand in the pot.

MS

blargoe

I was thinking he was the one that had the female owner that wanted to offer part ownership instead of a higher salary. Might not have been him though

tpatt100

Every job I have had my paycheck was deposited like my other checks.

dynamik

blargoe wrote: »

I was thinking he was the one that had the female owner that wanted to offer part ownership instead of a higher salary. Might not have been him though

I'm sure we could have worked something else out if that was the case

Seriously though, you're thinking of someone else.