I have recently resigned from a position and they are saying that I owe them money for a car rental that was kept beyond the initial rental period. Can the company legally withold my last paycheck, and all owed PTO hours while they research these allegations? There was no notice of this until I inquired if I could come in and pick the check up the day that the company received it. I had spoken to them a week prior to hault my direct deposit and be provided a physical check for final payment. There was no mention of the withholding at this time. I inquired as to why there was no mention of this or what they would have done if I didnt hault the direct deposit ad there was no valid answer, but rather only "They probably would have stopped it." Any insight that can be provided and any backing direction you can point me in is GREATLY appreciated.
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Withholding My Last Check
- Thread Starter whymeinsc
- Start date
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One more thing
FYI...When I contacted the company to make sure my check was there and it was ok to pick it up (since they wouldnt turn it over to another employee to bring to me), I was basically told that they wanted me to come and sign a document indicating it was ok for them to withhold these monies. When I stated I couldnt do so immediately and asked if I could get a copy of the document to read prior to signing, I was told "no" in a round-a-bout manner. I am trying to be as professional about this as possible and not take any legal action (if I even have any backing, but it is getting kind of difficult. My thinking is that if they feel I owe them this money, they need to take some form of civil or legal action to recover it and not withhold my pay in the meantime. Is my thought process at all accurate???
FYI...When I contacted the company to make sure my check was there and it was ok to pick it up (since they wouldnt turn it over to another employee to bring to me), I was basically told that they wanted me to come and sign a document indicating it was ok for them to withhold these monies. When I stated I couldnt do so immediately and asked if I could get a copy of the document to read prior to signing, I was told "no" in a round-a-bout manner. I am trying to be as professional about this as possible and not take any legal action (if I even have any backing, but it is getting kind of difficult. My thinking is that if they feel I owe them this money, they need to take some form of civil or legal action to recover it and not withhold my pay in the meantime. Is my thought process at all accurate???
Response from the DOL
I have just gotten off of the phone with the South Carolina Division of Labor and they have informed me that if the amount that an employee allegedly owes a company is equal to or greater than the final paycheck amount and a document indicating the amount can be provided, the employer can legally withhold a paycheck. If this is accurate, then I guess I am just SOL. However, my question now becomes: If I am being held responsibile for payment of the vehicle, am I able to bill them for the mileage as it would normally be expensed?? For instance, the company pays roughly $0.55/mile and I made 6 trips going 341 miles each way. If I have to pay for the vehicle as if it were my own, can I go back and expense the miles as if the vehicle were my own?? The reason I ask this is because if I go back and expense the miles for the trips and the additional expenses listed below, I am at a point where I basically break even and they would still owe my paycheck.
This whole situation erupted the day after I returned from a business trip which I payed for and was to be reimbursed. Any insight on if/how I can still expense these items? Being that I was still employed at the time of the trip, am I correct that the employer is still legally responsible for these items??
I have just gotten off of the phone with the South Carolina Division of Labor and they have informed me that if the amount that an employee allegedly owes a company is equal to or greater than the final paycheck amount and a document indicating the amount can be provided, the employer can legally withhold a paycheck. If this is accurate, then I guess I am just SOL. However, my question now becomes: If I am being held responsibile for payment of the vehicle, am I able to bill them for the mileage as it would normally be expensed?? For instance, the company pays roughly $0.55/mile and I made 6 trips going 341 miles each way. If I have to pay for the vehicle as if it were my own, can I go back and expense the miles as if the vehicle were my own?? The reason I ask this is because if I go back and expense the miles for the trips and the additional expenses listed below, I am at a point where I basically break even and they would still owe my paycheck.
This whole situation erupted the day after I returned from a business trip which I payed for and was to be reimbursed. Any insight on if/how I can still expense these items? Being that I was still employed at the time of the trip, am I correct that the employer is still legally responsible for these items??
I don't see why you couldn't expense your items to the company as per company policy. They could either reimburse you later or deduct it from the amount that they are withholding from your paycheck. Hope this worked out for you.
Still without a paycheck...
They witheld the entire check. They gave me nothing other than the boot!!! SC was the worst move I have ever made but regardless of such, can they legally hold my last paycheck (a decision made by HR) for time I worked, or are they required to provide the check and take legal action if they feel I am in the wrong and owe them money? It has been a little over 3 months now so I don't know what can be done, if anything.
They witheld the entire check. They gave me nothing other than the boot!!! SC was the worst move I have ever made but regardless of such, can they legally hold my last paycheck (a decision made by HR) for time I worked, or are they required to provide the check and take legal action if they feel I am in the wrong and owe them money? It has been a little over 3 months now so I don't know what can be done, if anything.
cbg
Super Moderator
The SC DOL is the regulatory agency in charge of such things; if they've told you the employer is legal, then yes, you are SOL.
so you are saying that they can legally withhold my paycheck, all expenses owed, and PTO time as well without providing any documentation, written proof, or legal information indicating that I owe them money? All they have to do is say I owe them money and they have free reign? If that's the case, couldnt a company fire an employee at any time and say the employee owes monies just to keep the final paycheck and save money on wages? I don't see how that is just but...
cbg
Super Moderator
I don't write the law. I would have sent you to the SC DOL, but you say you've already been there and they say you're out of luck. Well, they're the regulatory agency that manages such things; what do you think I can tell you that they can't? Did you think I could somehow overrule them?
The DOL said "IF DOCUMENTATION CAN BE PROVIDED," as was stated in my post after speaking to them. That is why I asked about the situation being that no document has been provided and this was an HR based decision. I did not ask you to overrule anything but merely your opinion. Thanks
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