Can employer withhold your last paycheck?

Loretta0519

New Member
Jurisdiction
Missouri
I recently resigned from my job at a small rural hospital. I worked there 10 years and I gave two weeks notice. I had an outstanding hospital bill from this year that I had been making payments on. They were deducting the payments from my check. When I resigned, they kept my entire last check. My direct deposit was $2.95. Can they legally do that? They owe me a weeks wages plus my accrued PTO.
 
I recently resigned from my job at a small rural hospital. I worked there 10 years and I gave two weeks notice. I had an outstanding hospital bill from this year that I had been making payments on. They were deducting the payments from my check. When I resigned, they kept my entire last check. My direct deposit was $2.95. Can they legally do that? They owe me a weeks wages plus my accrued PTO.

Did you sign an agreement with the employer/hospital regarding the pay deductions for the hospital bill? If so, read that carefully to see if it addresses this situation.
 
Agree that you need to review the repayment agreement as I suspect that there is language about what happens if you term'd employment.
 
My reading of the Missouri final paycheck law is that such a deduction is not permissible, and it's strongly discouraged under the FLSA. I would definitely recommend a call to the MO DOL.

ETA - that doesn't mean you can't be asked to pay the bill directly.
 
My reading of the Missouri final paycheck law is that such a deduction is not permissible, and it's strongly discouraged under the FLSA. I would definitely recommend a call to the MO DOL.

ETA - that doesn't mean you can't be asked to pay the bill directly.
I wonder though if the OP signed a deduction authorization.....since they originally agreed to have this deduction go through payroll, I suspect they did.... more like a loan repayment than a wage deduction.
 
I'm not sure they can take the whole check under MO law, though. A call to the DOL can't hurt. Worst case, the OP is told there's nothing they can do.
 
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