Should my boss be responsible for overdraft fees if my paycheck was late?
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Should my boss be responsible for overdraft fees if my paycheck was late?
My company has been missing payroll lately; is is every other week. Last month Iwent 16 days without pay and again this week. I have 3 automatic withdrawals – car insurance, loan payment,etc. They bounced. Right now I owe the bank 6 overdraft charges, and on top of that I worked on a prevailing wage job and got regular pay.
Asked on February 9, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Legally, if someone causes another to incur costs or losses because of the first one's intentional (i.e. deliberate) or negligent (i.e. careless) bad act, the first person is liable or reponsible for those costs. In this case, the employer has an obligation to pay you on payday; if the employer fails to do so and you incur overdraft, etc. costs, the employer should be liable. Of course, to recover those fees, you'd have to sue your employer, which could cost more than you recover, though small claims court is an option.
As to rate of pay: you need to be paid as per contractual agreements (including oral ones) as to the pay scale and/or as per law. If you were not paid the rate you should have been, you could take action. You could sue for the difference (in which case you could also sue for the overdraft); you might also be able for this to bring a complaint to the labor department (and it may at least be worth calling them to inquire).
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