Under what conditions can a paycheck be withheld?
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Under what conditions can a paycheck be withheld?
If I worked 40 hours last week (for my current employer) as a home health nurse but did not turn in the documentation (just my hours worked), can my boss refuse to pay me until I turn in the documentation (visit note)? There are several of us who have huge case loads and don’t get our documentation in on time but we do turn in our hours worked on time. My boss this law is “different” for home health care companies.
Asked on September 26, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
It's not that the law is "different" for home health care companies, but that any company could hold off on paying a worker who is paid on an hourly, project, commission or piecework, etc. basis if critical information necessary to process pay is not provided by the employee. In a case like that, the employer is not "withholding" the paycheck, but rather the employee failed to provide the documentation or information necessary to be paid.
If you turn in the hours, that should, however, be enough to pay you on time--that is all the company needs to process payroll. Other information--such as case files, how you spent that time, etc.--may be important to the company and for billing, but if it doesn't affect the ability to pay you, it should not delay your paycheck. From what you write, it would seem you have to be paid promptly and on time--though your employer would be free to fire you for not turning in paperwork it needs on a timely basis.
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