Waiting for last paycheck in MN

[Tomscat]

My husband started working for a company called Cambria in MN. On April 3rd he talked with management about another offer he received from another company and he would be starting orientation with them on April 4th (that was all the notice he had). He stated to management that he would like to stay with Cambria but he would an increase in pay. They declined and were a bit angry but he finished out the work day and he turned in all company property before leaving.
Friday, April 14th was his regular scheduled payday and has 59 hours straight time and 14.5 hours overtime from March 26th to April 3rd payperiod.
Monday April 17th he called the business office at Cambria and asked if he could come in and pick up his paycheck and was told his last paycheck was mailed to him of Friday April 14th, they said something about the postoffice getting mail late on Friday's and that is probably why we didn't have it yet. We are only 20 miles in distance from one another. Tuesday April 18th he called the business office again and told them his check has not arrived yet. They said the check was mailed on Monday and his former boss gave his word on this. Now because of the discrepency my husband then called his former boss directly and his boss told him his was right in the middle of something and would get back to him. But he has not. Wednesday April 18th and still no check and he called his former boss and left a message saying he was sorry for quitting on them but needed the better income and he would be more than happy to pick up his check today, that he needed it. He has called them 4 times now. Do I have to go and beg being the one in charge of finances at home?
Up at 2am, I can't sleep. I paid bills from a paycheck I don't have but expected. My husband feels like he is being harrassed because they are angry he quit. How does my husband get his last paycheck from what appears to be a reluctant employer? Thank you for letting me vent. PS On a better note, my husband's new job is great, Mclane Inc. and they really have a great package for their employees.

[Pattymd]

You going isn't going to help; as a matter of fact, it will hurt. You stay out of it; you weren't the employee.

By law, the employer must pay employees who resign on the next regularly scheduled payday, and postmarked or available to the employee on that date meets the legal requirement. It's not impossible it could take several days for the check to get to you in the mail. And most companies have policies that require a minimum of 7 days from the time the check is mailed until they will stop payment and issue a replacement check. And since payday was the 14th (in some states and companies, a holiday), calling on Monday to tell them that he wanted to pick the check up could have been too late.

And, I don't mean to sound harsh, but perhaps you shouldn't have written checks on money you didn't have. THAT is not your employer's problem.

Based on the details in your post, the employer is not in violation of any wage payment law at this point.

[Tomscat]

Thank you for the quick response, this site is really nice with a lot of information. We still have no paycheck from Cambria and I have taken your advice and plan on staying out of it. I did call the bank about my mistake of paying bills with no paycheck and wondered if they wanted me to transfer money from our savings account to cover anything that will be outstanding.
They said to go ahead and wait, today my husband will get his first paycheck from the new job he started so that should cover it.
I understand in MN they should have paid him on the next scheduled payday being as it was more than 5 days from when he quit till his payperiod but they have up to 20 days from his departure? His last day was 04-04-06. His payperiod was 04-14-06. Does the 20 days include only working days? Thanks again.

[Pattymd]

It is rather confusing, but the way I read it, since the regularly scheduled pay day was more than 5 days after his last day of work, he should have been paid on the 14th. The 20-day maximum appears to apply when the next regularly scheduled payday is less than 5 days following the last day worked; then payment is due no more than 20 days after the employee's last day. Either way, they're late now and he can file a claim for late payment of wages with the state Dept. of Labor if he chooses.

[Tomscat]

Hi and thank you again, little progress here. My husband called work again yesterday, Monday and they told him they were going to check into his paycheck and call him back between 2 and 3 of that day. We did not hear anything from them.
So he called the Minnesota Dept. of Labor and they told him he had to send a certified letter to Cambria requesting his check. So we did. This last Sunday a former employee of Cambria and friend of my husbands came to our house and told him that he has not gotten his last check either and didn't know what to do. He was let go before my husband quit. Such dirty business...... So we advised him of what we know.
I just wanted to let you know and the readers what our progress is and I will post anymore information, hopefully it is that he got his paycheck. Have a great day.

[Pattymd]

Good luck. No wonder there are multiple ex-employees of this company.