Deducting wages from final paycheck.... ?

[Anonymous]

So.. Moved onto a better role with a better company. Previous employer (Oregon) made me wait 4 weeks from my final day of employment (which in itself I think is in violation to Oregon Statute) for my final check which was to be 3/4 of November's commissions as I finished with them on November 21st.

Without informing me in advance, my entire paycheck today was voided and went unpaid because of samples/inventory still outstanding on my rep account. I sent in everything I had and provided as much detail as I could before my last day on items that were still on my account that I no longer had in my possession (a few customers still had items they were trialing, a few clearly went missing etc).

I know it varies by state, but no where in Oregon Statue can I find any legal ability for them to actually withhold my entire check and not pay me for my work over this, especially as it then means I was actually paid less than minimum wage for my hours in November. Anyone have any familiarity with this? It's only about 4 grand so it's not worth hiring an attorney over but I'd still like my money if legally it's owed to me.

 

[Anonymous]

For four grand, it might be worth a couple hundred dollars to find a good wage/hour attorney to write a pleasant letter to your former employer, with copy to your state's wage and hour division, politely reminding them of the applicable state statutes.

After all, your former employer is obviously not well-versed on the laws of the state where you were employed.

 

[Anonymous]

After 13 years with the organization they got me for every single penny, even the old black, square detail bag with broken latches. I was charged for the missing piece of plastic on the car fender and 150 miles over personal use. They took it all out of my last bonus check.

Oddly, we had an RD that was given a new Suburban with all the goodies. A beautiful rig. They never came and picked it up when he was let go. He kept it and drove into the ground finally parking out in the woods were it died for good. Never one word about it. I guess it depends on your level of importance.