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Payroll

Timing on final paychecks

11/01/2007

Q. When is an employer required to give a worker his final paycheck? …

What to do after salaried employee maxes out leave

11/01/2007

Q. I have a salaried employee who used all his vacation and sick time. He is allowed a total of 21 days and has used 22, but he wants to take more vacation in November and is always sick (so he’ll probably be out more). Can I deduct his pay if he’s out more? Or can I take days from next year? This may be an ongoing thing every year …

Pay correct, timely wages in NC or risk double damages

10/01/2007

North Carolina’s Wage and Hour Act says that if you fail to pay workers what they’re due, they can sue for those unpaid (or late) wages, plus a penalty of double what was due. Your only defense to double damages: proof that you acted in good faith and reasonably—a tough task …

How soon must NC employers pay final checks?

10/01/2007

Q. We have an employee whom we fired on a Monday and we paid him his final check on the next regular payday (the following Friday). He said we legally had to issue his final check within 48 hours of the firing. Is that true?—M.D. …

Don’t dock last paycheck for ‘Stolen’ laptop

10/01/2007

Q. Our company recently terminated an employee for violating company policy. At the time of his termination, he had a company laptop, which he refuses to return. Can we withhold his final paycheck pending the return of the company equipment? Or, can we deduct the value of the equipment from his final paycheck? —S.F. …

Collecting for damaged equipment

10/01/2007

Q. We recently terminated an employee and subsequently learned that he damaged company equipment through his own negligence. My boss wants to deduct the cost to repair the damage from his final paycheck. Is this legal? …

When employee keeps our property, can we deduct from the last paycheck?

10/01/2007

Q. If an employee quits or is terminated and refuses to return employer property—such as a pager or a cell phone—can the employer deduct the value of the property from the employee’s final paycheck? …

Insist on accurate time sheets, even if it costs you OT

10/01/2007

The Fair Labor Standards Act says employers must pay overtime to hourly employees who work more than 40 hours per week. Work time includes more than just the hours you put on the employee’s schedule—it also includes any time you “permitted” the employee to work outside the schedule. And therein lies a big overtime headache …

Gambling-Addiction defense fails Palm Beach embezzler

10/01/2007

Donna Duffer, former Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau controller, blamed a gambling addiction for her embezzlement of $1.6 million from the bureau. The theft, uncovered last fall, left the bureau’s budget in tatters and cost some staffers their jobs. Duffer stole withholdings from employee paychecks, leaving many employees holding the bag for back tax bills …

Can we mandate direct deposit?

10/01/2007

Q. To cut down on the administrative costs of issuing paychecks, my company would like to pay all its workers through a direct deposit to the bank of their choice. May we require our employees to accept their pay via direct deposit? …