Q: Can a company make me wait to receive my pay?
Hello, I recently discovered I was missing 2 checks from a payroll company. These checks are almost 3 years old at this point. After reaching out to them in to recover my missing wages I'm being told I need to wait till June-September (up to 18 months they said) to receive my money. Can they do this or should I contact the labor board about penalties, etc?
There's no issue on if the money is mine/actually earned, the payroll company has acknowledged that I should have received and deposited these checks by now, but just that the checks were never sent to me and I didn't notice until recently going over my finances.
A:
In California, employers are required to pay employees their wages on time according to a regular schedule. If an employer fails to pay wages on time, they may be subject to penalties under California labor law.
According to the California Labor Code Section 202, if an employee quits or is discharged, the employer must pay all earned and unpaid wages immediately upon termination or within 72 hours if the employee has given more than 72 hours' notice.
In your case, the payroll company has acknowledged that you are owed the wages, so they should pay you promptly. Making you wait 18 months to receive your earned wages is not acceptable under California law.
You have the right to file a wage claim with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) if your employer fails to pay your earned wages on time. The DLSE can help you recover your unpaid wages and may impose penalties on the employer for the delay in payment.
Before filing a claim, you should consider sending a written demand for payment to the payroll company, explaining that under California law, they must pay you your earned wages immediately. If they still fail to pay, you can then file a wage claim with the DLSE.
It's also a good idea to keep records of all communication with the payroll company regarding this issue, including any promises they made about payment.
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