Is it legal to withhold my paycheck??

[Keith]

I am a college student, and during the last week of my summer job, a group of my co-workers, myself included, were "suspended indefinately" from our jobs, pending an investigation for payroll fraud. I have not heard from the police or the employer for over 2 months, and neither have the others who were involved. Yet, I still have not received that last paycheck. How long can my employer withhold my paycheck? Is there a federal or state law (Rhode Island) that prohibits the action of my employer?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

2 months for an "investigation" does not sound reasonable. You may want to send a letter, certified mail, demanding your paycheck. If not, you will go to court and request punitive damages for deliberately withholding your paycheck for an unreasonable time without any reasonable justification.