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help please, fired and being threathen embezzlement charges

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knight28

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? michigan
My husband last week got to pay checks. one being a regular pay check and one being a bonus check for all the extra work he had been doing for the company due to them being short hanaded on staff. well they paid him the wrong amount on the check, they said and demand that he pay the money back today.( one week later, and money has been spent) My husband said he would pay the money back but he didnt have it today he would have to work to pay the money back to them. we are talking about 2781.19. my husband gave them every penny that he had left (250.00) and they kept this weeks paycheck which was 709.00. The owner came out and said he wasn't waiting for his money and he wanted it now borrow from friends, family , a bank or whatever to get it. We can't get the money. my husband offer to pay it back in installments that they would set up and take right out of his normal paycheck. This was not good enough either. The owner came out and told my husband to take the shirt off his back ( unifrom shirt ) and leave. He went home and got all of his uniform shirts and took them back to get his paycheck, they would not give it to him ,nor would they give a reciept for the 250.00 cash he took out of his wallet trying to resolve the sitution. What rights do we have? can they keep his whole check? can they fire him because he spent a paycheck that he got that was suppose to be a bonus check? Do they have a crimal case that he embezzled money? please help.
 


pattytx

Senior Member
What was the amount based on? Overtime pay, "just because"?? Did you husband know how much to expect and did he have any idea he was "overpaid"? Why did they say there was an overpayment? And I would suggest he demand a receipt for what he already paid back.

Legally, short of any valid enforceable contract to the contrary, if the employer says the employee has been overpaid, and they are not willing to
work out an installment plan, they could theoretically sue for complete repayment. However, they can't get blood out of a turnip.
 

knight28

Junior Member
my husband was told it was a bonus when he was handed the check. Him and 2 other guys worked all day on sunday detailing cars inside and out, due to the fact they had to be done on monday and they didnt have a person to do this. he has been doing extra work lately due to the fact i was off work for a month. He stays late alot of nights to help them out. He has never recieved a bonus check before and his boss told him not show it to any one else (because they didnt give one to every one) but he did have to pay the other two guys out of this check also. they took all the taxes out of him and he had to pay them as well ( he was not a independent contractor). They told him that he had to pay back the full amount of the check including the taxes. the check was for 4400.00 after taxes he recieved 2781.19. My husbands checks are never the same even though he is salaried. They refused to give him a reciept for the cash that he gave them, worked him till at least 4 pm and refused him his check, and made him take his shirt off. My question is this can they try to file a crimal embezzlement charge on him because they over paid him? what about deflamation of chacarter by making him walk out without a shirt on his back? i have spoke with labor board and thye said they can only hold 15% of his check. Also the checks are hand signed by the owner every week and done right in the company. No one else has lost there job and they have fired my husband. ( i know that in michigan they can fire you without a cause, i also work in management) what are our legal stand here. Can he go to jail for embezzlent? Will he get unemployement( jobs are very hard to come by in our communtiy)I am sorry this is long but i am trying to give you as much information as i can.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
OK, we have a lot of issues here.

First, if your husband's job is detailing cars, then that is a nonexempt position and he should have been getting overtime pay at 1.5 times his regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week. With very few exceptions, which most employers don't even know about, lest know how to properly administer, the fact that his pay method is "salaried" does not affect the requirement to pay overtime. Does your husband have any records of the hours he has worked over the last 2-3 years.

Plus, he cannot be required to pay other employees out of his pay. Did he tell the labor board that?

The taxes seem about correct, based on the flat rate of 25% FIT and the state default rate, which the employer can use when paying "bonuses".

Regarding the statement that the employer can deduct no more than 15% of an overpayment from future wage payments, doesn't really make a difference if the person doesn't have a job, does it?

Regarding defamation of character, etc., that's gonna be a pretty tough one to prove. The boss being a jerk is not illegal and your husband would have to prove he suffered damages based on what happened. That's very unlikely.

Good luck. This employer seems like a royal PITA.
 

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