If my son’s last paycheckwas lost in the mail, can they charge him a $35 stop payment fee?
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If my son’s last paycheckwas lost in the mail, can they charge him a $35 stop payment fee?
Want this before they will re-issue check.
Asked on August 5, 2010 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Probably yes, they can do this. Stopping payment on a check, and then reissuing another one, incurs some costs--a stop payment fee; some staff time (which is money); etc. The employer is being asked to incur these fees when there appears to be no doubt but that they did they job--wrote and mailed the check. Therefore, the loss of the check is not their responsibility, and as a result, it is not inequitable for the employer to not want to bear these costs. Instead, they are looking to impose the cost on the party that benefits from the stop payment and which, from their perspective, could be responsible for the loss (e.g. maybe it wasn't lost in the mail; maybe your son misplaced it). So yes, the employer probably can impose these fees, and fighting it would almost certainly cost more, in terms of time and money, than its worth.
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