...and Mississippi has quite possibly the weakest wage and hour laws in the US.
...and Mississippi has quite possibly the weakest wage and hour laws in the US.
I resigned with a 30+ day notice. I fulfilled my obligations. I had addressed the payroll issues respectfully but with discretion and in disagreement of the amount of over payment. I am very concerned that my last paycheck was witheld and my personal property is not being returned. I won't tolerate being wrongfully accused nor be held accountable for other people's mistakes. I broke no laws but am faced with a former employer that prides himself on work ethics, yet demonstrates ethical misconduct and is breaking the law.
Forgive me if I rambled, I was trying to express that I had not performed anything illegal since that was questioned in your previous post. I agree the paycheck and personal property are the only things that really matter. Thank you for the advice. I assure you, I'm well aware of consequences of avoiding reality, I Choose to face it with diplomacy and an open mind first.
Correct. From what I can see it offers no statutory requirement for when a final paycheck must be paid, and imposes no restrictions on employer deductions from wages; although the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) would still apply.
You presumably knew what you were supposed to earn, and should have had a pretty good sense of whether your paycheck was significantly higher than it was supposed to be. That appears to be the position that your employer is taking. Fault is beside the point -- if you're paid more than you've actually earned, even if it's 100% the fault of a H.R. employee, your employer can still require that you return the overpaid wages. For your to be repaying the money over a period of months, and to continue to owe money, it would appear that the overpayment was substantial.
You have the right to your personal property. You may have to sue to have it returned.Quoting christinalynn
In terms of federal restrictions on deductions from wages, perhaps one of the employment gurus can point to something more recent than this; but that 2004 opinion suggests that overpaid wages can be deducted from a paycheck even if they reduce your pay below minimum wage.
Quoting Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Opinion FLSA2004-19NA
I am not aware of anything Federal that changes the above, but stand by for DAWW who has been my go-to person for payroll issues ever since Patty died and in some instances even before. State law could be more restrictive than this but as indicated, Mississippi has very weak wage and hour laws; it is unlikely in the extreme that they have implemented anything above the Federal.
My paychecks were averaging what I was expecting. They were not substantially high. I was taking a good bit out of every check and picked up extra days to attempt a peaceful resolution. There was no contract signed at any point. I refuse to sign a promisary note including an interest rate to pay an amount of money I disagree with from the beginning. The oversight on his end should be a lesson learned when hiring new employees. The cost of being your own boss is sometimes you make mistakes and the consequence of that mistake is the reality.
OP, you are wasting your time posting here. You need to be following the volunteer experts' advice and filing claims (except for UI, as you've been advised, you're not entitled to that).
Thanks, I sooooooo agree. I will be filing claims and consulting with my attorney asap.
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If I truly felt I owed that in full, I would.