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Is general release required to receive owed wages? Is employer obligated to pay interest on the wages owed?

Asked over 3 years ago - Flushing, NY

Is it legal for employer not to pay any interest for the wages owed for more than 3 years due to employer's own accounting/HR mistakes ?

Is employer allowed not to pay employee the owed wages due to its own accounting errors if the employee is not willing to sign the specific release?

The employer told the employee is required to execute the employment related general release before it release the payment. When the actual release forwarded to the employee, it was not a general release, it was a release agreement with specific language such as discrimination, retalization, deformation...

Am I allowed to request the compensation for pain and sufferning? My employer/HR simply ignored my request of payment. Despite I had provided all the written document/WC court decision, Insurance payment to the employer, it took me more than 3 years to get my employment account corrected.

Does the employee has the right to receive his/her owed salary without executing the release? Does the employee entitle to additional interest of the owed wages?

Do I need a lawyer to deal with my employer?

Thank in advance.

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Attorney answers (1)

David Alexander Phipps

Reputation Level 11

Answered over 3 years ago. Contracts / Agreements Lawyer in City Of Industry, CA.

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An employer may not require the employee to sign a release of any kind as a condition to payment of wages.

Interest is owed on most debts if the amount is known. If the debt is known to exist but the amount is not precisely known, then no interest is owed, generally speaking, until the amount becomes fixed, such as by a court judgment. I can't tell which category applies to this case. You should file a claim with the labor commissioner (or whatever that office is called in your state). Ask for interest in your claim. If it is owed, the labor commissioner will collect it.

If the labor commissioner doesn't take your case, then yes, you need an attorney.

State laws may differ on this point, but I think you will not be able to get any compensation for pain and sufferning in this case. Such damages are generally not available in a breach of contract case. However, you probably will collect statutory penalties.

This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted here:
http://davidphipps.com/docs/Disclaimer.doc . And I am not your attorney.

David

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