Can employer force you to sign confidentiality form

[marlakay]

after you quit your job to be able to get final check? And this is just a simple front desk position at a B & B, we are not talking when i used to work for large companies in the city. We live rural now and are semi-retired. I think boss is mad and just trying to
slow down or stop my final check or just play games with me or try to force me to come back to work so she can give me a lecture. I saw her do this with another employee, force them to come back after they quit and she talked to her for an hour. I think the girl was
afraid to just walk off.

Her email to me at the end of a bunch of stuff was that she would send my final check after I came in on monday between 11-1pm to sign confidentiality agreement....no shit thats what she said!

I think its illegal and I am planning to email her back tomorrow, I am not coming in, please send me my check!

She hired me to do front desk, I use to work for AAA in travel so i thought it was perfect part time job. Then 6 months later after some maids quit she told me last week I am changing your job you have to do maid work now 1/2 of the time,
I tried for two days and it hurt my back so I quit and told her if i kept on i would end up doing workmans comp. She should be lucky i didn't do that! Instead she was mad I quit and started playing this game.

What do you guys think?

[pipoman]

1. no

I would reply with, "If my final check isn't in my mailbox no later than 1 week after the scheduled pay day for the last pay period I worked, I will file a complaint at the unemployment office and file small claims action".

[EC]

2. No.

and look up labor laws in your state. They get a certain amount of time to pay your last wages, but they can't be withheld.

[targetpractice]

3. You are entitled to be paid for the hours you've worked. Period.

Your check should be made available (or sent to you) by the next regularly scheduled pay day. Check your state laws on this.

Sometimes employers ask employees to sign a confidentiality agreement after termination in exchange for severance pay. If your employer really wants a signed agreement for some reason, then let the negotiations begin... You are not obligated to do so. Ask for two, three, or four weeks of severance pay. It couldn't hurt because you are entitled to your final paycheck regardless. If you don't get check on time, report your employer.

Don't sign anything without getting something EXTRA in return.

[DBoon]

4. Find a lawyer

the correct answer is "it depends"

Some states have very primitive labor codes

[saras]

5. Unfortunately you're right about the lawyer

but it seems that the labor code would not have to be so much 'primitive' as 'hostile' to allow ANY entity to one-sidedly impose a contract before they will pay a legal debt.

Imagine what ELSE you could do with a loophole like that. If it exists, it must be written explicitly as an attack on labor, otherwise you could drive whole nations through it.

[marlakay]

6. I live in WA state

and the law says she has to pay by next regular pay day. I just wasn't sure about the form she wants me to sign. I live in small town so I think she just doesn't want me to talk bad about her
around town. It's not like this B & B has trade secrets!

We don't have money for any lawyers, especially now with me out of work. And my final check is not that much, I just didn't think she had the right to force me to come back there. Heck, I never want to see her again!

I was thinking I might call the labor people in my state monday morning to make sure. Wanted to see if anyone here had any thoughts about it.

[Sherman A1]

7. You may not have money for a lawyer, but you can file a

complaint with your state's division of wage & hour (or whatever they might be called).

Alternately, you can simply inform your previous employer that is your intention to do so, should your paycheck be withheld.

I suspect the matter will be settled rather quickly.

[LiberalFighter]

10. I support this action

Tell her that you would appreciate that she pays what you are owed by the required time specified by state law. Because you don't want to file a claim with the labor dept and her ending up paying for legal fees and damages in court.

She may be under the impression that she can do what she does because she has gotten away with it in the past. Only because they weren't knowledgeable enough to challenge her. And there is a good chance she does it without consulting an attorney.

If she fails to pay you by the next regular pay period then file a claim.

[GeorgeGist]

8. Perhaps you know too much.

That should be worth more than your paycheck.

[Omaha Steve]

9. Don't do it

This is a wage and hour issue. They must pay you. Now IF she had requested it before you started working there, that is another story. Tell her the SEIU told you so. :-)