company not giving me my last check, what can i do? UPDATE!

777 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by TippinTaco, Jan 31, 2011

vanguard

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2011

i worked for a security company in nov and dec. they took 5 weeks to give me my first check and when they did they had cheated me out of $53.00 and pulled all kind of crap and lied to me about the job and pay,and had me drive all the way to atlanta an hour and a half from my house to get my first check and when i got there they said it had been mailed, well i did not get it untill 5 days later, needless to say i quit, well now they owe me my last check and when i called they said i had to come to atlanta to get it and bring the ONE uniform i had, well i left the uniform with the principal at the school i was working at so the superviser that comes to the school can pick it up. i am not driving all the way back to the school to pick up one uniform then drive all the way to atlanta for a $125.00 check, all they have to do is mail it to me, but they want to be pricks about it. is there anything i could do about this? :help:

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ookoshi

· #2 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

You can send them a letter via certified mail requesting that your final paycheck be mailed to your residence. Keep a copy of the letter. If they do not pay you in a reasonable amount of time (Call the Department of Labor to find out what that time is, I'm not sure on Georgia law here, but I'm sure it's specified, and if it's not Federal law has some time frame specified), you can contact the Department of Labor and file an unpaid wages claim, and they will go after the company for you.

It's a slow process though. The only way to get your money faster is to bite the bullet and drive down.

cpelliott

· #3 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

As the previous poster mentioned, send a certified letter with your address. That way they can't claim they didn't know where to send it.

Become a PITA. File for unemployment under the claim that you didn't really quit, they effectively let you go by failing to pay. It will cost them much more than your last paycheck to defend the unemployment claim.

File the unpaid wages claim with the Department of Labor.

If they made you do anything off the clock, file a claim with the federal Dept of Labor.

Since you feel they cheated you, did they ever mail any documents to you by US post office? File a mail fraud claim with the local postal inspector.

Sue them in your county small claims court. This is the only one that will cost you money. It used to be $25, but I have no idea how much it costs today.

Of course before you go to all this trouble, let them know that you won't be going away quietly. Be clear that you have a long list of grievances that will require defending at the federal, state and county level. Demand your check be sent immediately by fedex or ups and that they give you a tracking number. Squeaky wheel you know.

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vanguard

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

thanks for the info, i will contact the dept. of labor on tues. I am so mad, when i drove to atlanta to get my first check , everybody else was getting thier checks then they tell me they did not have it, it was mailed,after i had called 3 times in the days before to make sure it would be there so i would not waste my gas and time, some of the people in the room were laughing and talking real low, and now they are trying to keep what little money i earned. ticks me off. :twisted:

GATimberdoodle

· #5 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

cpelliott said:
Sue them in your county small claims court. This is the only one that will cost you money. It used to be $25, but I have no idea how much it costs today.

Of course before you go to all this trouble, let them know that you won't be going away quietly. Be clear that you have a long list of grievances that will require defending at the federal, state and county level. Demand your check be sent immediately by fedex or ups and that they give you a tracking number. Squeaky wheel you know.

Just a non-professional observation: as to small calims court, explore whether you may be able to file In Forma Pauperis, thereby waiving the filing fee. However, note wjhether they could have any counterclaims against you. File only if you will see it through.

GA is a two-party state, and that allows you to record any conversation to which you are a party. Consider whether this is something that you would like to do.

IrishTiger

· #6 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

It's ironic... but I quit my job in November. Today I just received a letter stating the company (American Airlines) overpaid me by $1,000 and wants me to pay them back.

I don't think so!!!!!!

eagle98

· #7 · Jan 14, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

IrishTiger said:
It's ironic... but I quit my job in November. Today I just received a letter stating the company (American Airlines) overpaid me by $1,000 and wants me to pay them back.

I don't think so!!!!!!

If they can provide proof that you owe it they can make you pay it. If you don't they can turn it over to collections and cause havoc with you credit score.

I had a friend that worked for Delta and they made a double deposit in his checking account for his last check. He ignored them for a while until he got letters and calls from collections agency. He eventually paid it back.

However I wouldn't pay anything back until you ask for proof which they should be able to easily provide if indeed it is truly owed.

hkdave

· #8 · Jan 15, 2011

company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

vanguard said:
thanks for the info, i will contact the dept. of labor on tues. I am so mad, when i drove to atlanta to get my first check , everybody else was getting thier checks then they tell me they did not have it, it was mailed,after i had called 3 times in the days before to make sure it would be there so i would not waste my gas and time, some of the people in the room were laughing and talking real low, and now they are trying to keep what little money i earned. ticks me off. :twisted:

Sorry this happened not cool :-(

zookeper

· #9 · Jan 15, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

i had a similar situation about 20 years ago, when i quit (with notice) my employer sent me my last check for minimum wage, said that was all he was required to pay. i sued in small claims, had to do mediation first and there he agreed to pay the additional money but not the filing fee (i think it was $35) so i proceeded to court and got my money + fee. was a pita but to me it was well worth it.
good luck

spgtti72

· #10 · Jan 15, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

I wasn't payed an $800 final check after quitting a job 12 years ago. The DOL told me that it was a civil matter and would have to be handled in small claims court.

vanguard

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 15, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

zookeper said:
i had a similar situation about 20 years ago, when i quit (with notice) my employer sent me my last check for minimum wage, said that was all he was required to pay. i sued in small claims, had to do mediation first and there he agreed to pay the additional money but not the filing fee (i think it was $35) so i proceeded to court and got my money + fee. was a pita but to me it was well worth it.
good luck

yes that is what a paper said that i signed said, that my last check would be minimum wage, big deal i was making $7.50 so i go to $7.25 lol ........im just glad not to have to take there crap anymore.

NTA

· #12 · Jan 15, 2011

Re: company not giving me my last check, what can i do?

Some states really hammer the companies that try this.
Others have little protection for the employee, after a long battle all he can get is what is owed.

No legal fees, triple damages, etc.

Welcome to GA

(Same deal with insurance company, encourages slow claim pay)

vanguard

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 29, 2011

THANKS GUYS i called the labor board 2 weeks ago, well i got my check today.

martin_j001

· #14 · Jan 31, 2011

Glad to hear you got it, sucks that anyone has to go through that kind of BS to get paid for work they did. :roll:

TippinTaco

· #15 · Jan 31, 2011

happy ending after all :righton:

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