employment debt
What can I do about an employer witholding my final paycheck for &quot;damages&quot;?
<p>So I accepted a 2nd job about 8 months ago as an elderly care taker for my landlord's parents. After a year their mental condition had deteriorated enough that I informed by landlord/employer that they needed more professional live-in care and would be resigning from the job in 30 days.</p>

<p>Instead of a last paycheck I got a long letter detailing how I was financially responsible for several appliances her senile father had taken apart trying to "fix" them, and that my final paycheck was being retained as payment. Is this legal? I never signed anything accepting responsibility for stuff her senile father broke. Now instead of just quitting a job I have a letter here claiming I owe her several thousand dollars and claiming that my final check is forfeit. </p>

<p>She is a powerful attorney in California and I'm a regular working stiff. This is a bit out of my league and intimidating. </p>

<p>No employer has ever the right to withhold your pay check for work you have done. It is strictly illegal. Even if they had 100% evidence that you caused damage and were responsible for that damage, they still can't withhold your pay. They have to pay you, and <em>then</em> they can try to take you to court. The reason for this law is exactly cases like yours, where people try to avoid payment. </p>

<p>If the "powerful attorney" tells you that you are not getting paid, then that "powerful attorney" is making a big mistake, because any lawyer would <em>love</em> to take your case to court and see the judge cutting the "powerful attorney" down to size. </p>

<p>If you don't want a lawyer now, then you can write a letter by registered mail telling them that you worked for them, how much the payment due is, that they are legally required to make that payment, and that you will take them to court if they are not paying. If there is a conflict between law and a "powerful attorney", the law wins, and the law is on your side. </p>

<p>Keeping your paycheck and imagining that you have to pay the damages is illegal. You do have a verbal contract for services to care for the elderly couple, which is a valid contract, and as you say, that contract did not contain details about your responsibility for damage to property; and responsibility for that property can't be assumed to be in the contract as an after thought by the other party, the landlord. But do you have anything in writing? Letters about the job when you first started? Emails? Phone conversations you remember? Gather those materials and write down what you remember.</p>

<p>You do need to find legal help. Try contacting <a href="http://www.mtlsa.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)</a>. They offer free and low cost legal help. They can help you with options to take and how to respond to the landlord's demands. If they can help you respond to the landlord/lawyer, the fact that you have talked with MLSA will show the landlord/attorney you have been getting legal advice, and could defuse the situation. The landlord's motivation may simply to try and take advantage of you, and the pushback involved with you talking to MLSA could result in them backing off.</p>

<p>Another option is to talk to a lawyer in your town; find one who advertises free initial consultations. I assume you're not going to be able to pay much, if anything, but you may find a lawyer who would pick up the phone or write a short letter for free (pro bono) in order to help you out. Even if the lawyer doesn't specialize in contracts, they may help. If the landlord/attorney is contacted by a lawyer who is helping you, that will show them you're serious about defending yourself.</p>

<p>Don't ignore the letter or the situation; that will make worse the legal situation you've been thrown into. Unfortunately, people like the landlord/attorney like to break contracts and intimidate people into monetary settlements when they're unhappy with a situation. So find some legal help and defend yourself. </p>
