My employer won't give me my final paycheck.

I had a signed agreement with my now former employer that stated I could terminate employment 'at will' without notice, etc. I walked out of that fifth circle of hell last Friday afternoon. Wednesday of this week was the scheduled payday for last week. They are refusing to give me my paycheck ( I was a salaried employee) ; the only reason they give is that I never turned back in the worn and stained two shirts they gave me to wear during our auctions (it is an auction house). Since I regularly put in over 40 hours a week there and ate lunch at my desk if I ate and even went after work to look at merchandise and edited their online cataloque from home at night sometimes; this is an especially bitter pill to swallow. They know I am a single mother and that they are causing me hardship. What can I do? It is only a $500.00 paycheck and yet this very financially secure business sees fit to torment me.

Turn in the shirts. If they still don;t give you your paycheck, call the state dept of labor for assistance.

Contact the state dept of labor folks and file a wage claim.

Also, the fact that you were a salaried employee is meaningless as to whether you were entitled to overtime pay. Look into that as well via the DOL.gov site. If you weren't in a managerial-supervisory position, you're likely non-exempt and entitled to OT.

I can't turn in the shirts. They gave them to me and I never had to sign anything saying they owned them. I laundered them at my own expense and they had permanent stains from the grease on some of the antique bayonets I handled at work so when I quit last week I threw them away. I was never told at any time that the shirts would have to be returned when I left. They gave all the employees shirts. Plus, it doesn't seem like one issue should be able to affect the other. I think they just want to punish me for leaving.