I recently resigned from a "position" with a company. They had a terrible track record of not paying employees for time worked.

I spent a month with the company and was paid once, not a real paycheck, but an advance on future pay.

I never received any future pay.

I was told I would be paid weekly for the work I completed. I was not paid and I was asked to work all kinds of crazy hours on side projects not covered by the job description I signed up for.

I have decided to withhold some company property (cell phones and a printer) that was on loan to me to use for company work.

I used these tools for company business only. I never even opened the printer.

So, I really just need to know if retaining these items until I get paid for work completed is legal in Massachusetts.

I know many people who have been stiffed on pay in the past and I want to get paid.

Please help.

Thank you,

Myk

The wage issue aside, for which you may have a very legit case to file a claim for, what you call "witholding" is really just theft, it's just that simple.

Return the equipment so they can't call the cops, then file a claim for unpaid wages. I believe in MA the AG's office may handle that but others will know better............cbg?

Yep, the Attorney General's office serves as the Dept. of Labor in Massachusetts.

These are two completely separate issues as much as you would like them to be related. Your recourse for unpaid wages is the AG's office. The company's recourse for failure to return company property is to file a police report for theft. Do you really want to go there?

As much as it disappoints me to hear that...

Thank you...

Just signing in to agree completely with the above.