Being refused my last paycheck by mail

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Floridianwantingpaycheck

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I worked for a major pizza chain when I found out I was moving. I notified the store manager before the end of the scheduled week that I would not be available due to me having to live for family reasons. In person at the store, I gave the store manager my address as to where I would be moving to and asked for my paycheck to be mailed to the new address and the store manager agreed to do so. I waited a week for the paycheck and it never came, so I called the store to find out what the holdup was and was told that the store manager had lost my new address and needed to have it again, which I immediately gave. The next day I called to verify that the paycheck had been mailed out, at which point the store manager advised me that I am required to drive to the store to pick up the paycheck and it will not be mailed to me. I moved nearly two hundred miles from the store, so driving down to pick it up is not an option. I advised her that I would be contacting her boss to find out what could be done. While speaking to the area manager, he informed me that I would need to mail him a copy of my drivers license showing the new address. Mind you, part of the reason I need the paycheck is so that I will have the money to go to my states DMV to change the address on my license. I advised him of this and he stated that since I did not give the address in person at the store before I moved that the only options I have are to drive two hundred miles to pick it up or send a copy of the drivers license with the new address. As the driving is not an option and I need the paycheck to pay for the new license with address change, his options are not available. I also advised him that I had gone to the store before I moved and given the address to the store manager in person, but she claims to have lost the address. I advised that I will seek legal counsel to force him to mail my paycheck to me, and he hung up. Within five minutes I received a call from human resources asking me to verify the new address for her, which I did. I also asked if the paycheck would be mailed to me, but received no answer, and she hung up. What is my legal recourse to be able to get my paycheck? I have a friend that is an attorney, but I want to wait before I contact her for legal representation on a pro bono basis.
 
Mind you, part of the reason I need the paycheck is so that I will have the money to go to my states DMV to change the address on my license.

Florida requires you to change your address within ten days of moving and allows you to do it online.

However, the fee for a replacement license is $25.

Florida has no Department of Labor for filing a wage claim and the US DOL would probably take months:

Florida Department of Labor

I'm not sure I blame the employer for wanting to properly identify you and your new address so I suggest you find the $25 and go to the DMV or you can change your address online and take screen shots of the confirmation and send them to the employer.

If that doesn't work, you don't have much choice but to go the $25 route with the DMV.

I don't think you're going to want to pay a lawyer $300 per hour to handle this for you when the employer may be within his rights to verify who and where he is sending the check to.
 
Additionally, Florida has no laws regarding the timing of the last paycheck, even if they did have a DOL (which, as Jack correctly points out, they don't).

In other words, while in some states you'd have plenty of legal recourse, in Florida the employer has the upper hand here.
 
Besides making a claim with the US DOL (wage & hour division), there is small claims court as another option (though you have now moved). Either one should be a last resort - they take time.

They aren't allowed to hold your paycheck forever for work that you performed - do as adjusterjack suggests.

Good luck.
 
However, the US DOL claim & small claims court are generally the 2 choices given in Fl. to resolve wage claims if nothing else works. The employee can sue for fees paid & generally gets them back if he/she prevails.
 
About 90% of the time, if you can find a solution that avoids going to court, or keeps the government out of your affairs, do it.

A legal remedy, such as going to court, calling the police, or getting the government bureaucracy involved in your business should be avoided if at all possible!!!

Work to negotiate, compromise, settle your disputes peacefully.
 
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