Employer garnished last check for AR account
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Employer garnished last check for AR account
I was working for an auto dealership for awhile and was able to purchase personal parts for my vehicle through the parts department. I was never given a receipt for the purchases, the parts person would bill it to a AR account and if not paid within the month, the payroll dept wold take it from the following paycheck. On the paystub it would say AR with the amount in the deductions column. My employment ended unexpectedly due to issues outside the work place and when mailed my last check, it was printed on bright green paper and for the first time contained my SS with my full name and address. It was for Zero Dollars and No Cents. Payroll had paid my standard deductions and applied the remaining amount entirely to the AR deduction line. Is this legal in WI? When I asked for a balance, I was given a figure they had recorded. As I said, I never was issued receipts for my purchases. In addition, the employer has kept a work station I paid for and built with permission to allow additional space for my larger repairs. I asked to pick it up and was told that I had to satisfy the AR balance first. I had never been treated that way and find it legally questionable.
Asked on January 31, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
1) If the agreement between you and your employer, even if an unwritten agreement, was that parts would be paid by taking it from your paycheck, as apparently the agreement was, then they could take the remaining balance from your last check: doing so would be in keeping with the agreement. Obviously, they could only take out what you actually owed. That they did not issue receipts does not invalidate this, since you could have a kept a record of what parts you took and their cost. If you believe (and believe you could prove) that they took too much out, you could sue them for the return of any excess amount, such as in small claims court.
2) As to the work station: if you paid for it, it is yours. If they won't return it, you could sue them for its return or for its monetary value.
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