Tag Archive for: wage theft

When Do I Get My Final Paycheck?

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When an employee resigns or is terminated, they usually wonder when they will get their last paycheck. When must a company pay a final paycheck, and when could it become wage theft?

First, if an employee is discharged or terminated, then they must be paid “immediately upon demand.” That means that an employee can request a final paycheck immediately after learning they were fired. An employer then has 24 hours to provide the final paycheck after that request or demand.

Second, if an employee gives proper notice of resignation, employers may provide a paycheck on the employee’s last day at work. But employers are NOT legally required to do so. An employer has up to the pay period following the employee’s final day (that is more than 5 days after the employee quit) to provide an employee their final paycheck. But it cannot be longer than 20 days after separation. So, if an employee resigned on the same day as their “payday,” that doesn’t mean that an employee will receive their final paycheck on that day.

If you resigned from an employer and the next pay period has passed and you did not receive full compensation you may be looking at potential wage theft. Similarly, if you resigned from an employer more than 20 days ago and you have not received your final paycheck, you may be looking at potential wage theft. State and federal laws prohibit various forms of wage theft.

If you have questions about wage theft, a final paycheck, or other employment law questions, please contact us today. We are happy to answer questions and assess if we can help with your situation.

Wage Theft Significant Problem, Minneapolis City Council to Address

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Wage theft is the illegal practice of employers not paying workers for their labor, or their work. Wage theft includes failing to pay minimum wage, failing to pay overtime, failing to pay workers the wage that was promised, forcing workers to work ‘off the clock,’ and many other illegal practices.

Wage theft is a major problem in the United States, and in Minnesota in particular. In fact, the Minneapolis City Council has recently announced its intent to address the widespread problem of wage theft, according to media coverage.

It is encouraging to see the Minneapolis City Council’s interest in addressing this widespread and growing problem. But it is important for workers to know that federal and state laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act both provide legal recourse for some of the problems of wage theft. In fact, Teske Katz Kitzer & Rochel, in collaboration with Nichols Kaster, recently helped expand the potential theories of recovery available to workers who are not paid at the rate that they were promised, in Shoots v. iQor Holdings, Inc.

One of the problems allowing for wage theft are workers not being fully aware of all of their rights under existing laws, as well as new laws that may be passed, such as Minneapolis’s goal of city council action. If you have questions about wage theft, or are concerned that you and/or your coworkers are not being paid for work, or are not being paid fairly, contact Teske Katz Kitzer & Rochel today.