Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with paycheck

Do advances exist?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:49:32 -0800

Is it possible to get an advance in salary (that is, an early paycheck) when just starting a job? I have been unemployed since I graduated from college this spring, although I started looking and applying for jobs much earlier. After a string of setbacks, I've interviewed at a couple of jobs, and I feel really good about them to the point where I truly feel that I could be on the verge of getting an offer. Although nothing has set in stone yet, this has given rise to a new problem.

Right now, I'm in dire straits financially. Were I to be hired, I currently have just enough money to get me to and from work for the first week, if that. I'm trying to change that by selling my old things, but I'm not sure if that will make a big enough dent. I would ask my parents to borrow from them if I needed too, but they have their own troubles.

So what I was wondering was this: if I get a job and it turns out my paycheck isn't weekly, or if it turns out that I won't be getting money for a while, would it be possible for me to receive part of my salary before the first check--say, after the first week, and that amount can be deducted from the check I'd get later? For the record: I'm not expecting money before I start, and these are normal, salary-based positions I've been applying for, as opposed to commission-based ones. Will companies do this? When should I ask?

I know I haven't gotten an offer yet, and I may not get one for these jobs, but it's such a pressing issue that I felt I might as well ask for future reference. Thanks!

Labor law help needed for socal govt contract employee

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:38:47 -0800

I believe my company, a government contractor, is using alot of grey areas in their employee time cards to get away with paying as little as possible. For example, I am listed with them as "salary", which by my understanding would mean I get x amount of payment per pay period. However, they still have everyone fill out a time card, and pay us per the hours we have worked. However with widely varying schedules each week due to employees being sick, or managers (who do not get paid by hour but really are salaried) taking our shifts, it means our paychecks can vary by several hundred dollars either direction.

Now this means on the upshot, I have some weeks I get to pull in more hours, and to be honest this happens more often than not. However, since they list our positions as "salary", any overtime is treated as a normal hour. We do not get 1.5x for hours over 40 per week, and do not get 2.0x for holidays, etc. We just get the same rate for every hour we work no matter when it is.

At this time let me point out that everyone's shift here is, by virtue of the fact we have 12 hour shifts for 24/7 positions and the number of people we do, a minimum of 84 hours per 2 weeks. Thats broken into a 60 hour week, and then a 24 hour week. I can provide more details on how that breaks down if it seems relevant to the issue.

Even though I'm not totally comfortable with the setup as is, I can deal with it for the most part. Concern grows however, when in the past several weeks, a sub-contractor to our company, who supplies some of the employees I share shifts with, determined our jobs to be "hourly" and has granted their people 1.5x OT and 2.0x Holidays. Our company will not grant that to us, and has now infact, cut that sub-contractor's employee's hours down to 40 per week max to avoid having to pay higher rate hours. They are now "reviewing" our entire job description in an internal investigation to find out if we are salary or hourly.

My first issue is that the people doing the review are all pro-company managers, who are NOT accountants, lawyers, or have any qualifications that I can see to carry this out. My second issue is that pending the outcome of this "investigation" we have now be subject to many rule changes.

Sick time, even though our normal shift is 12 hours, can not be used more than 8 hours at a time (per day out sick), and can not take you over 40 hours in a week. This means a day I was sick last week and took off, which I rarely do, I have lost half of my pay for, despite having 100+ sick hours saved up. If I had come in, I would have been paid 12 hours. I was too sick, so I only get 6, because the other 6 would have put me over 40 hours that week. We have in the past ALWAYS been able to use up to our "expected scheduled shift" worth of sick time per day we call out. After the fact, and after I challenged this with my manager/pay-approver, an email was sent out explaining this new rule.

So, how can you help? Thanks for asking.

I need to know, specific to Southern California, or Government contracts, as much as I can...

A) How can I get a *real* investigation into they payment practices started, by a labor board or such?

B) Is there any recourse you know of, or could see, for me to get my 4 hours sick time. I admit its more of a principle issue than the 4 hours of pay, but I'm really really pissed over it.

C) If our jobs some how are declared truely hourly, is there any precident for possibly getting the past 2 years of my life here reviewed, for a chance at pack pay for all of those 1.5x and 2.0x days I've put in?

I know no one here is a labor lawyer, or my specific lawyer, and I am fully aware I am not one either... but help if you can. Also, note, we are NOT unionized here.

If someone would like more information or to discuss this directly, you can email me at anonymous_2350@randomshit.com. Thanks.

How can I receive what's rightfully owed?

s01110011 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:39:39 -0800

How do I go about getting my paycheck from a company that has wrongfully withheld my pay, admitted to their mistake, and actively brushed me off, ignored me, lied<> to me for almost 3 months now? Details within. I'm located in Los Angeles, CA.
(in advance, sorry about the long-winded explanation)

I was hired a few months ago to a tutoring company that is funded by the No Child Left Behind Act, offering free tutoring services to students of K-12 schools that report below-average scores on standardized tests.

My hiring contract identified me as an independent contractor. The terms of my contract were such that I must complete a minimum number of tutoring hours per student (26, in my case) by the end of the academic school year. Any hours short of the required minimum, I would be required to reimburse the company for $27 per hour (given the company's government contract hinged upon completion of said hours, as was explained to me). I was assigned three students upon hiring.

The pay system is such that, at the end of every month, I would send in sign-in sheets to be filled out during each tutoring session, and I would receive a paycheck in the mail. It happens that I only worked one hour in April, and most the large majority of my hours were worked in May and June, the paperwork for which were to be turned in together (as the school year ended mid-June). So, I was set out to receive all my pay at once.

In a nutshell, the one of my students declined tutoring due to scheduling difficulties (this occurred right after I was hired, upon initial contact with the students parents by telephone). I followed all proper procedures in notifying the company, double checked that I was not being held accountable for that student's hours, and proceeded to tutor my other two students.

HEREs where the problem occurs: Come July, Im waiting for my paycheck and I get an email saying that I did not meet the required hours. Takes about a week or two of back and forth emails to clarify that my neglected hours were the 26 required hours for the student that had canceled already. I explain my situation to the company contact that I spoke with initially, she says that she will pass on my email, and that my case must be reviewed by the company's review panel. The panel finds me at fault. I'm flabbergasted, call and request to speak with a supervisor of some sort.

At this point its been maybe three weeks since I was initially contacted. I speak with the supervisor and explain my situation. I am told that she was the person who reviewed all the cases. She appears to be completely unfamiliar with my case, and upon viewing my file (she said) there was absolutely no mention of my email explaining my situation (the student's cancellation, etc). Says she needs to speak to a supervisor and will get back to me the next day.

Supervisor never gets back to me, I continue to call and am constantly put on hold indefinitely or sent to her voicemail box. After two or three voicemails, 6 attempts at calling, I finally plead with the receptionist/operator (who informs me that this supervisor is now head of the department, and there is no one above her who I can speak with regarding the matter) and get the previous supervisor back on the phone.

I state that "I'm such and such, I've been trying to get in touch with you for a while now". My response: "uh huh". (not even an apology, or hint of recognition? I'm blown away) I re-explain my problem. "Uh-huh. hold on." Puts me on hold about 10 minutes. "Your check will be in the mail on monday." *click*.

So.. Monday was 8/18. It's been more than two weeks now, I still have no word on the check.. could not reach he by phone again. Sent the supervisor a lengthy email (last tues) explaining that my deep frustration has finally worn down my patience, and my courtesy ends with that email. I clearly stated that should I not hear back from her by weeks end, I will take legal action (small claims court)

I'm not one to go back on my word. I am certainly fed up, and clearly their head of department has not shown the courtesy expected of any professional. But, I am thinking about showing up at their office and demanding to speak with said head of department personally and asking for a check on the spot. (is this even a good idea? By demand, I don't mean yell and be unreasonable, I mean I won't leave before I get to speak to someone who can resolve my problem)

Barring that. Can I ask for more damages than the $700 or so they owe me? (in small claims court)

Is there anything in California labor law that gives me some solid ground to stand on? The nature of the company being a mostly by-mail operation, I have very little in the way of paperwork to support my case. At the most, phone records to show I actually did speak with them, and possibly a written statement from the student's parents stating they declined the tutoring.

Could they legally withhold my pay for such a long period of time? Even given that I did receive some 2 paychecks (for the total - the deducted $700ish), they were still received in mid-late August (well after I reasonably expected to receive my pay - their stated turnover time is 2 weeks from receipt of paperwork to mailing the check)

I have no legal experience, am a poor student, and desperately frustrated and unsure about what my next path forward should be.

Any of your input is greatly appreciated, thanks for taking the time to read this.

Should I be happy with a partial salary increase?

aftermarketradio — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:41:29 -0800

How should I deal with being given a raise, but not given the agreed upon amount? Last week my boss brought me into his office and gave me a promotion with a higher salary.

This week, my paycheck does not reflect the salary he agreed to give me. It is certainly considerably more than what I was making before, and I appreciate the valuation, but it is a bit shy of the amount my boss said he would give.

As I said, I am very appreciative of his offer, and part of me just wants to forget about it and be happy with what I have. But the other part wonders where the discrepancy came from. Was there an accounting error; did he back off a bit after looking at the budget with more scrutiny; did he misspeak during our meeting? What happened?

How should I confront him about this without sounding too, uh, confrontational? Or, should I just shut up and be happy -- which I am -- and which I would have certainly been if he had initially offered me what my current paycheck indicates.

Excessively taxing a bonus?

leo. — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:43:51 -0800

So a friend's just received a bonus from her employer, but the bonuses seem excessive. (The taxes from that bonus exceed the total of taxes that were paid for the entire year.) Is there anything that can be done? Yes, life is dangerously close to the poverty line (yay acting!), but we knew this nice little bonus was coming in. However, we didn't expect that our 2000 bonus to be mostly gobbled up by about ~$500USD in taxes and another $125 to Social Security.

Isn't there a way we can have the employer re-issue the check as a one time gift or donation or something? I mean, it's a bonus and the taxes from that bonus exceeded the taxes that we paid for the entire year. (We got the bonus for staying with her job to train her replacements - so yes, on top of all that, unemployment.)

Logically, it would have made more sense to break up the bonus as 4 "regular" paychecks, right? Then the taxes taken out would have been less, and the employee would receive more money, and really feel appreciated, right?

Gah. Apologies for the venting and incoherent rambling. I am extremely frustrated at this situation.

How long does my former employer (in New York State) have to get me my final paycheck?

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:45:14 -0800

How long does my former employer (in New York State) have to get me my final paycheck? I recently resigned from my job. It was a fairly amicable split - I gave my two weeks notice on January 25th and let them know that February 8th would be my last day. The regular payday of February 15th has come and gone, and I still haven't received my final check.

I know some states like California have very strict laws about when the final check has to be issued, and I know that New York state gives the employer slightly more time, but I haven't been able to figure out exactly how long they have. The Department of Labor website hasn't been any help. Can someone please let me know where I stand legally?

BTW, if it matters, the company is in serious financial trouble and was not able to make payroll for its current employees on the 15th.

Holiday bonus for service providers?

arnicae — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:24:45 -0800

Do you give service-providers a special gift at Christmas? Does it matter if they're federal/state service providers (mail person, garbage guys) or people who work specifically for you or your company? Does it differ by country, city, or culture? My partner and I engaged the services of a wonderful cleaning guy this fall- he comes in once a week for an hour to help us keep ahead of our messiness. It's great, we love him.

We weren't certain if it was customary to give him a special gift at Christmas, particularly since he comes in for an hour a week. We settled on giving him double what his usual hourly rate is along with a non-specific holiday greeting card expressing appreciation for his work and help this year, but we were wondering, what is normal/customary? Is double what we usually pay him per week low? High? Just right?

We also noticed that our garbage guys left everyone little photocopied "Merry Christmas!" notes this week. Was that a solicitation for a holiday gift? Should we give them something, and if so, how much? (If it matters, we're apartment dwellers and share our garbage can with 3 others).

We're curious about YOUR holiday service-provider gifts. We assume cash is the way to go, but do you give something other than cash? To whom do you give it?

Corporate service-providers, like: the cleaning person who cleans the floor of your building?

Federal/State/Municipal service-providers, like: your garbage guys. Your mail person. Your recycling guys.

Personal service-providers, like: your nanny. Your cleaners. The guy who washes your car. Your masseuse. Your manicurist. Your waxing esthetician.

Who do you make special holiday gifts to, how much, and what (if not cash)? Thanks in advance for satisfying our curiosity (and helping us figure out this dilemma).

Found very old paycheck. How can I claim the money?

crazy finger — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:09:54 -0800

How can I claim the money from an old, uncashed paycheck? My father has finally broken decades of pack-rattery and started to clean out old drawers full of envelopes and mail. Among things he's found is an old, uncashed paycheck from roughly 15 years ago.

The check was issued to him from a company which has since been bought out; the acquiring company is still in business. He made some preliminary phone calls about the check, but nobody has been cooperative and he's asked me to intervene on his behalf. How should I proceed?

Why is work bonus separate from the paycheck?

The Behatted Wild Man of Greenfield — Sat, 19 May 2007 10:10:06 -0800

My employer gives out bonuses as separate checks, which are taxed separately. Why? Any type of bonus is always issued as a separate check, with the usual taxes taken out.

What's the reason a place of busines would do this? Why is it not included in the regular paycheck?

Why is my direct deposit suddenly not working?

The Behatted Wild Man of Greenfield — Sat, 12 May 2007 07:52:38 -0800

Suddenly, my normally working direct deposit isn't working, I didn't realize it and now I've wracked up many overdraft charges. How can I fix this? My paycheck is set up to be electronically deposited into two accounts, at two different banks. The split is about 90/10, one bank for bills, the other for spending money. The money is usually deposited early Friday morning, and available for use. I get a printed stub from work saying XX amount has been deposited, delivered in a sealed envelope, like a paycheck.

This has been working fine for three months, until yesterday. Only one bank account had money deposited. For the remainder, I was issued a check.

Naturally, it was busy at work, and I just assumed money had been deposited to both and of course used my debit card on the one that hadn't been directly deposited. Today, I actually check my account and see that I've been hit with 3 overdraft charges for spending money that wasn't there. Had the money been deposited as usual, those charges would not be there. I open up the envelope and see that it's an actual check, not a deposit notice (though it does note one deposit did go through). There is also an important notice that says "Your bank was notiied of your request for direct deposit. It will begin after account verification." WTF? I requested no such thing recently and this direct deposit has been working just fine for

What's going on? How could this have happend? Is this the bank's fault or my work's fault? How do I go about getting these charges off and my money returned?

What does he take me for?

Jess the Mess — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:15:03 -0800

I'm pretty sure my boss's accountant lied to me about sending out my paycheck to cover up my boss's lack of funds, thus leaving me without a paycheck for a full pay period. This is a pretty baffling situation and I'm not sure what the best course of action is.

Backstory: I started this job approximately 8 weeks ago. I am the sole employee of a one-man operation. At the end of each two week pay period I send my hours to my boss's accountant who dispatches a check to my home address. Theoretically, anyway.

Recently I noticed that the "company" debit account was declined when I ordered some supplies for my boss. I also received a phone call from the building management saying they had not received his March rent. My boss acted surprised when I notified him of these things.

Fast forward to the pay period before last when I e-mailed the accountant my hours. He replied to my e-mail asking about unrelated tax matter of my boss's. I answered his question and asked him if I should assume he'd send out my check that day as usual. No response. A week passed and I still had not received my paycheck. (I should mention here that the accountant's office is located in a suburb of the city where I live and normally it takes mail approximately 1 day to get from his door to mine), so I call him and ask him when he sent it and he says it went out on time. I tell him I haven't received it yet and he says it must be lost in the mail and to wait until the next payday comes up and if it's not there yet he'll cut me a check for all four weeks. Which, stupidly, I agree to. It occurs to me the next day I shouldn't have agreed to this and I e-mail him requesting he send out a new check immediately because I need the money now. No response.

Today is the next payday for which I was instructed to wait. According to my boss Mr. Accountant is out of town this week. Thus it is clear to me he had no intention of cutting a check to me for anything today. Today I remind my boss I am currently owed two pay periods worth of pay and after futzing around all day he finally goes to the bank to get a "check thingy" (his words) for me. He returns empty-handed (which leads me to believe there was no money in the bank) and says he will just write me a check from his personal account. Then he asks me if I'm SURE I didn't receive receive my last paycheck. I tell him yes and what he owes me for the four weeks minus some for withholding (which the accountant is supposed to take care of later).

I deposited the personal check in my account and am hoping to God it doesn't bounce.

NOW, I have been very patient and trusting here but I am at the breaking point. It seems clear to me that my boss's accountant never sent out my paycheck and lied about it when I finally called him to cover for the fact that the company account was empty, hoping I would be stupid enough to believe the post office was responsible until there was enough money in the account to pay me.

However, I don't think I can actually prove this. And I'm not sure if my boss knew what was going on or not. He is just disorganized enough that I can believe he might be unaware of the fact that his business was broke. But then, why on earth would the accountant LIE to cover my boss's ass without even being asked to?

For what it's worth, my boss and I have a strictly professional (i.e. we don't hang out or chat much) relationship. I don't particulary trust or distrust him.

All signs point to quit, I realize, but unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the money to do so right now (though if the personal check bounces I'll have no choice). My questions are: Should I confront my boss and his accountant about this? I'm afraid if I do I might get fired. On the other hand if this happens again I'm out of there. How can I deal with this without making my work life miserable? And if I did end up quitting or getting fired over this would I have ANY legal recourse?

Should I make a fuss?

EnormousTalkingOnion — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:23:08 -0800

Should I file a complaint (i.e. get extra money) over my late final paycheck? I quit my job and gave a full month's notice, so my employer was required by California law to have my final paycheck ready on or about my last day of work. It wasn't. They do their payroll through a third-party holding company deal, and I was supposed to receive the check by mail on my last day. Apparently they had forgotten to file some key form. After a week, I asked them why I hadn't received it. A week after that (two weeks from my last day), the HR person basically told me that they screwed up and would be sending me my check, finally. She also requested, in writing, that I send them a written confirmation that I won't sue them over this, which kind of pissed me off.

I know that it's within my legal rights and fairly straightforward to demand a day's wages for every day late the check is. My question is, is it worth the ill will? The company is a small one (~20 people), so it's not like dealing with a big corporate HR department (also goes a long way in explaining the oversight). The two co-founders would inevitably find out, and they probably (correctly) assume that, although I am not a rich man, going two weeks without that last paycheck did not pose a hardship to me. I left on very good terms with them, and expect to use them shortly for references and/or letters of recommendation. This was also my first job out of college, so if I can't get a solid reference from them, I'll be screwed. I don't want to be a doormat, and I am legitimately annoyed at the way they handled this, but I don't want their most recent memory of me to be me arguing with them over extra money.

Should I demand to be paid for the extra two weeks, knowing that it might spoil my good relationship with my former bosses? Is there any way I can make that request firmly but nicely and preserve goodwill? Does anyone else have experience with this?

Why do companies wait so long before giving out W-2s?

stuckie — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:53:53 -0800

Why do companies wait so long before giving out W-2s? I just received my yearly notice (by email) that my W-2 is going to be mailed to me tomorrow, and it reminded me of a curious phenomenon: In every job I've ever had, no matter how well-run or tech-savvy, I seem to get my W-2s on or after the "last possible day" legally required.

Most other payroll-related technology has improved in the last 10 years. Especially in the internet age with direct-deposit and ADP-online-style accounting, shouldn't I just be able to log in my account and print this on or around January 1st? (the amounts listed on the W-2 are exactly the same as the YTDs on my final paycheck of the year)

Is generating a W-2 a lot harder than it looks?

It starts to make my mind drift to conspiracy theories, like:
Do companies "hold" our federal withholding amounts in interest-bearing accounts and therefore lose money the earlier they release the W-2s?

Or the Occam's Razor: are corporate accountants simply just as lazy as the rest of us when it comes to all things tax-return-related?

I want my money

Snyder — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:30:47 -0800

My paycheck is late again. I'm starting the second month of my job, and my fourth paycheck is now a day late. Of the 4 checks I've been due (including this one,) 2 have been late, the first one by 5 days. It's a small company, and the owner writes the checks herself, but to my mind, this is totally unacceptable. I don't have any real savings, so getting my checks on time is vital. According to other employees, this is a reoccuring event. I'm already looking for another job, but that might take some time, and I'd like to do something in the meantime, either with the boss, or through some official agency. If it helps, I live in Tucson, Arizona.

I'd like most to get my checks on time, but if I can't do that (or even if I can,) I'd like to do something about it that makes my displeasure known or brings in some kind of governmental/third party oversite. Any ideas?

Company keeps paying, although employee has departed. Any liabilities?

queue_strategy — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:09:29 -0800

A friend's old company has continued to direct deposit paychecks after her departure - what are the liabilities? I have a friend who left a job 3 weeks ago to work for a new company. She gave proper notice and went through the normal exiting procedures. But she was surprised this week when a direct deposit from the old firm (on the regular payment cycle) appeared in her bank account.
The old company is a large, bureacratic corp that may take quite a while to discover this. My question: are there any legal liabilities if she does not notify the past employer? Is she under any legal obligation to do so?

What do I tell my boss when they try to take money out of my paycheck?

onalark — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 14:18:39 -0800

What's the proper way of telling the company I work that I won't stand for being fined out of my paycheck? (On behalf of an anonymous MeFilterian) The job I work for involves billing our vendors in a way that, if not done perfectly, results in a chargeback. I've heard rumblings from the higher-ups that if "chargebacks become a problem, we're going to start charging employees out of their paychecks". This job has recently moved to being my responsibility (I just started the job several months ago), and as I'm just a beginner, a few mistakes have been made that are totally my fault. And I'm certainly doing all I can to improve and get better every day. Accepting fines out of my paycheck was *never* part of my contract, or job description, and I want to be prepared with what to say if they point the finger and say they're gonna take my money. My first inclination is to say, go to hell, I'll quit before you take a dime of my money. The company is doing very well financially, by the way, and I take home less than $20,000 a year.

id fraud or simple misdelivery?

vacapinta — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 20:28:56 -0800

My friend just got a paycheck in the mail. It had obviously been opened and then scotch-taped back up. Also, it arrived a couple days later than she expected it. Inside was the intact paycheck and stub. Problem is the stub also had her full name, SSN #, and of course salary and workplace. Should she be worried? If this was ID theft why would they have taped it back up? I'm curious too about what may have happened here.

Missing my shift differntial for OT

nathan_teske — Thu, 20 Jan 2005 17:29:01 -0800

I'm a non-exempt, non-contract hourly employee who receives a second-shift differential of $.50/hour. Today I noticed that the shift differential is not being figured into my overtime rate — that is, my overtime rate is being calculated at ($N-$.50)*1.5 instead of $N*1.5. Is it normal/legal to ignore shift differential when calculating overtime pay? I've done some Googling. So far the only specific information on what consitutes an employee's regular rate is for healthcare workers. (I'm not.)

And oh, I'm working in Minnesota for a company whose corporate headquarters are in North Carolina.

Runaround closing my 401k account

cactus — Fri, 24 Dec 2004 16:20:43 -0800

In California, upon leaving a job, an employer has under most circumstances at most 72 hours to pay the leaving employee their final paycheck or the employer gets fined.

Are there any similar laws which require investment/financial institutions to give the investor their funds within a certain amount of time of the request? (MI) I have a 401k with Prudential from an employer I left four years ago. I never rolled the account over to my IRA because the money was doing just fine where it was and I'm sort of lazy about such things. Now I want that money, in cash. (Never mind the penalties - I don't pay taxes so there's not much disincentive to taking the money right now.) I first requested the funds be sent to me in November and I still don't have them and I've spent over half an hour on the phone with Prudential every day since last week. They say they can only give me my funds with a check and that a EFT or transfer is not possible. Since last Friday it's been nothing but stopped checks, checks getting sent to wrong addresses, me being lied to, me being giving invalid UPS tracking numbers, and other shenanigans that have generally dampened my christmas spirit - everything except a check ending up in my hand.... What legal recourse do I have? Bonus points for something bad happening to them, like fines or eternal damnation.

Boing! Boing!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 19:15:32 -0800

The paychecks from my employer are bouncing. I live hand to mouth. Does that qualify me for unemployment in California? If I walk away from the company, does that mean I have quit and I am ineligible? Or am I laid off and eligible for benefits? The CA website is next to useless, and the phone number is consistently "busy" with a pre-recorded message stating that due to the volume of claims and calls, we need to try and call back later. What would you do?

Windfall!

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 10:58:48 -0800

My latest paycheck is for double the amount I'm supposed to be getting paid. I get paid by direct deposit, so the money is already in my account. What do I do?

My paychecks aren't coming with FICA/witholding numbers (and totals). Is this lega?

anastasiav — Fri, 09 Jan 2004 12:10:14 -0800

Is there a Tax Accountant in the House? My new employer gives me paychecks with no itemized paystub attached to them -- just a check. If I ask, they'll also give me a separate printout with my Gross Wages, Federal Withholding, FICA, etc for that pay period, but they can't seem to produce a document with the totals on it. Is this legal?