Withheld W-2

i am from alabama. a former employer is withholding my w-2 on the grounds that i have an outstanding check at his store. he hasn't come right outand said "i won'tgive you your w-2 til you pay off your check" but its pretty obvious that is what he is doing. i guess he doesn't realize that i can not take care of the check until i get my return. my question is: is this illegal? what can i do? i've tried asking for it and he just changes the subject. any help you could give me would be great. thanks.

It is not legal for him to keep your w-2. Probably the easiest thing for you to do is to estimate what the earnings were and estimate the tax withheld, etc. for purposes of your income tax return. Then attach to the return a statement that clearly says those amounts were your best estimates and you can not be sure because the employer (give his name, address, and employer id number if you can) refuses to give you the W2.

The IRS will take care of it. If your estimates are not accurate, then you can amend the return later when you do get the W2.