My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Washington
I have not worked since 2010, recently applied for early Social Security, to begin receiving benefits at age 62. When I made my application, they asked what was the last year I worked, and told them the answer, 2010. I quit my last job on June 30, 2010. However, they then looked up my reported earnings, and to my surprise they showed me that I had $88.00 of earnings in the year 2011, and that it was reported by the same employer, the one I quit on June 30, 2010. I told them I absolutely did not work for him, or anyone else in 2011, and that is the truth. They said I should contact my former employer about the matter, but that is impossible because I left on very bad terms and I could actually get in legal trouble if I contacted him. They then said that it would probably be okay, and my application would probably be approved.
I don't know what to make of this. I never received a paycheck for this $88.00, or a W2 form. Should I request a W2 form or transcript from the IRS? Why would an employer report to the IRS that I worked in the year 2011 for him when I absolutely did not? This $88.00 amount seems very odd to me, it doesn't square with the hourly wage my employer was paying me, or with a specific amount of hours that might have been worked. It's a small amount for sure, and it would never have even have come up until I applied for Social Security, but I'm curious about it. Could this indicate or suggest that my former employer has been using some illegal accounting procedures for tax purposes, that I should report to the IRS? I worked for him for many years and, though I never knew of anything concrete, rumors circulated among fellow employees that he was cheating on his taxes. Or, would this $88.00 simply be some perfectly legal tax maneuver?

