What do I do if my company won’t pay me my last paychecks becauseI quit prior to 120 days as per an employment agreement?
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What do I do if my company won’t pay me my last paychecks becauseI quit prior to 120 days as per an employment agreement?
Can my company not pay me due to an agreement (I signed pre0employment) that was broken for not staying employed with them for 120 days? Don’t they have to bill me for anything that they think I owe them instead of keeping my last checks for the hours that I put in? Do I have reasonable grounds to file a law it against them?
Asked on April 22, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
There is no general answer to this, since it depends on the terms of the agreement. Generally, you are right in that in most cases, a company needs to pay an employee for all hours worked, then separately seek to collect (e.g. sue) for anything it thinks the employee owes it (such as through theft or destroying company property). However, there could be an employment agreement which stated that if the employee leaves before a certain time, she forfeits any unpaid paychecks, and such an agreement may very well be enforceable. So to answer this definitively, have an attorney review the actual agreement for you. Also, before taking any action--and possibly before retaining an attorney--ask yourself if it's worth it. Say you are owed $1,000 net (after taxes, etc.)--it may be the case that the most economical thing, especially if you now have a different job you like better, is to forget the $1k rather than pay several hundred dollars for an attorney to fight the issue for you.
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