What to do if I didn’t receive my paycheck but it cleared the bank?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if I didn’t receive my paycheck but it cleared the bank?
My employer sent my paycheck via UPS to my job, however I never received it. When I contacted my employer, they told me the check already been cleared the bank. They requested a copy of the check copy and sent it to me. It appears that someone else cashed it into his/her account. Can I sue the bank, my employer or the one that cashed the check?
Asked on September 17, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You can definitely sue the person who cashed your check--what they did is wrongful, and provides both a basis for a lawsuit and also grounds to press criminal charges.
You cannot sue your employer unless you can show the employer did something carelessly (or deliberately) wrong--like addressing the check to the wrong person.
In theory you should be able to sue the bank for not taking care to check that the correct person was cashing the check, but in practice, I'm not aware of people winning on this basis--it's hard to show that the bank was sufficiently negligent (or unreasonably careless) as to warrant liability. It is most likely not worth trying this.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.