Hi,

My wife just quit a job due to an openly hostile work environment. She has already found and accepted a new job. The question I have is with her final paycheck. Her employers were not very mature or professional individuals, and parted with her on very poor terms after having said and done some things to her that would be unforgivable even relative to common decency. They have apparently decided that she wasn't deserving of receiving a final paycheck. The pay day for this check (for the period during which she quit) was last Friday, 27 Jan 06. She was not notified to pick up the check and the company is located about 1 mile away from our house. She has also not received her W2s.

The pay should have been for almost an entire pay period. She had not received any paid vacation or sick leave benefit as part of her compensation package.

Obviously, the check is late. We have been unable, after several tries, to get ahold of the NLRB agent in North Carolina. Although I certainly don't fault that person for being unresponsive (their workload is assuredly formidable!), I do need to act, and quickly, to at least initiate whatever legal process will be necessary to force the company to pay this check.

So, my question is, what should my next step be? Is there a way for me to proceed on my own, or should I seek legal representation? Should I consult the IRS with regard to the W2s? Is there any other legal action we can seek to settle this matter quickly and decisively?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: She did explicitly request that the check be mailed to our address on file in her letter of resignation.

She can file a complaint with the NC DOL with regards to the pay check she has not received. Note that I said SHE, not you. YOU do not have a next step - you have no standing in your wife's employment issues.

In NC, company policy determines whether unused vacation is due on termination. I am not aware of any state which requires unused sick time to be paid out.

The IRS will not accept any complaints with regards to W-2s not received until February 15. If she has still not received it by that time, she can at that time contact them. Again, SHE has standing to complain - you do not.

Yes, please pardon the slip of the tongue. I did mean her. I have just helped her to find information she needed but she has made all the necessary contacts thus far, since she does not have access to a computer during the day with her new job. I will take your advice and refer her to the NCDOL.

Thanks again cbg -

You're welcome. Let us know if you have any other questions.