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Employer Constantly Fails to Provide Paychecks on Time

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  • 06-27-2017, 12:12 PM
    FaheyUSMC
    Employer Constantly Fails to Provide Paychecks on Time
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of:Massachusetts

    Having read Chapter 149, Section 148 of the MGL, I'm under the impression that the company is required to have checks available six days after the termination of the pay schedule if I worked five or six days, and this was confirmed by a woman at the AGO who barely spoke English, and was difficult to understand. Our work weeks go Friday to Thursday of the following week. On multiple instances, the company hasn't had checks available until the following Friday, eight days after the termination of the pay week. The office itself is only open normal business hours, and i'm not sure if that applies anything to the case at hand.

    Today, I called the office in Providence, RI where the checks usually come from, asking why my check hadn't arrived. Thursday, I asked them to mail it to me, as I relied on my supervisor to get my check when he dropped off our time sheets that afternoon. They said they would mail it out to me that evening (Thursday) and I would have it Monday or Tuesday. I tried twice to have direct deposit done but the company never did it. Checks can't be cashed until Friday anyways. Today, there was no check, and when I called they told me they had sent it to the New Bedford office as usual, despite my request being accepted the previous Thursday. The check will now have to be mailed to me from New Bedford, which means I may not get this check until the following week unless I can somehow get to the New Bedford office, which I cannot. On top of that, according to the woman I spoke to, the New Bedford office is empty today, so I wouldn't be able to get it today even if I tried.

    I have documented several instances of them not having checks available as required by law (as I interpret it, feel free to correct me) over the past six months. It comes out to an average of once a month. In one instance, I was never paid for six hours of work I had done, and despite telling them this they still have failed to do so, and in another they failed to have checks available prior to the Christmas holiday, with the office being out that Friday (thus, none of us could get our checks). My question is should I file a complaint with the AG over all the instances, including this one, in which checks were not available as required by law (which, as I said, should have been available on Weds., or at the latest Thursday), or for this instance, plus the instance they haven't paid me for?
  • 06-27-2017, 12:20 PM
    cbg
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    How do you usually get your checks? Are they mailed to you? Do you pick them up at your location? Another location? Distributed to you on the job site?
  • 06-27-2017, 12:28 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    Massachusetts law requires all employees must be paid within six days of the end of the pay period during which wages were earned. For example, if a pay period ends on a Friday, employees must receive all wages earned during that pay period, including overtime, by the following Thursday.

    As far as the law is concerned though you are paid the moment the check is put in a mailbox to be delivered by the postal service.

    I noticed you wrote, "...the office in Providence, RI where the checks usually come from...". Do the checks not always come from the same office? It also wouldn't surprise me if a RI HR & Payroll department doesn't know the law in MA. Not that that is an excuse but you might want to point it out to them.

    As far as not being paid for 6 hours you worked. That could simply be a clerical error. You mentioned you supervisor dropping off time sheets. Did you talk to your supervisor about the missing hours? He may have to sign off on them.
  • 06-27-2017, 12:28 PM
    FaheyUSMC
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    The checks arrive at the Providence, RI office and are sent to the New Bedford, MA office late Thursday morning/early Thursday afternoon, if we're lucky. Sometimes they aren't picked up until late Thursday afternoon itself. My supervisor on Thursday normally brings time sheets to the office in New Bedford on Thursday afternoon (close to COB) and is able to grab my check there.

    EDIT: As for the hours not paid that one day, the company itself was made aware of it twice by myself and never followed up on it.
  • 06-27-2017, 12:33 PM
    cbg
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    I'm going to be blunt with you. Massachusetts has the shortest turnover time from the end of the pay period till the checks are required of any state in the US. Every other state gives an employer a longer period to process the checks and get them to the various locations. I don't do payroll any more but I have and I am here to tell you, MA is my state but six days is a frustratingly short window to accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished.

    You can file a complaint with the AG's office but I would anticipate that late pays, even frequent late pays, are going to be a very low priority over no pays and short pays.
  • 06-27-2017, 12:33 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    Sounds like you have a third party that actually produces the checks. If so you might want to check directly through the 3rd party provider to see if you qualify for direct deposit. I know you said you tried to before but I don't know who you tried to with.
  • 06-27-2017, 12:39 PM
    FaheyUSMC
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    We had to fill out a one-page paper with the relevant information, plus attach a voided check to show the account as well. I did this twice. As for the payroll service, it's done in-house using ADP (https://my.adp.com/static/redbox/login.html)
  • 06-27-2017, 03:30 PM
    PayrolGuy
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    Did you send the Direct Deposit form to ADP or did your employer? I'd be very surprised that if you go to that link and sign in there isn't someplace to request direct deposit and upload the voided check and the form (or complete it online).

    The only reason it wouldn't be there is if your employer has specifically opted out of Direct Deposit.
  • 06-27-2017, 05:37 PM
    cbg
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    If I said what I wanted to say about the service capabilities of Another Damned Problem in this region, I'd probably get banned, or sued, or both. So I won't. I'd go to whoever handled payroll in house and enlist their help.
  • 06-27-2017, 05:43 PM
    hr for me
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    Have to agree with cbg and I don't even live/work in y'alls region......keep pushing with your internal payroll contact -- both for DD and for timing. Put it into writing/emails with your documentation. Maybe, just maybe you can make a difference.
  • 07-01-2017, 12:46 PM
    FaheyUSMC
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    So I called them on Tuesday after the check didn't arrive. Having dealt with this for months on end, I finally told them that this was unacceptable because I still hadn't receieved my check. The HR director in Providence ended up calling back and said it was a mix-up, the usual, and that she'd have them mail me the check from New Bedford, and that I should have it Saturday. A check arrived, but it was my final check for the season, not the one I was expecting, which means I have no idea where the check I should have received last week is. At this point, I'm just going to turn it over to the AG.
  • 07-01-2017, 03:11 PM
    cbg
    Re: Company Constantly Fails to Provide Checks on Time
    Probably your best bet.
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