Former employee decides to report employer for withholding their pay, employer accuses them of breaking company rules first: ‘They’re taking legal action against me'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 22, 2026 1:45 PM EDT

What gives an employer the right to withhold someone's pay?

The answer is pretty simple: nothing gives an employer the right to withhold an employee's pay, no matter what. It doesn't matter if the employee quit, if they were terrible at their job, or if they broke an imaginary rule in the company handbook. At the end of the day, if they came in and did the job, they must be paid for it. As long as they are employed, getting paid is not optional.

I remember the first time I had to turn to a labor lawyer for a work violation, and it wasn't fun. But what else can you do when someone refuses to pay you for a job you did? At the end of the day, if they won't comply with the law, it is up to you to make them do so. Luckily for me, a simple letter from my lawyer was enough to make that company cave and give me what I was owed, but not everyone has it as easy. Some employers are so unbelievably stubborn that they make people jump through hoops and use cheap scare tactics just so that they can get away with breaking labor laws.

Take the employer below as an example of what not to do when you employ someone. After an employee left their job, the employer withheld a third of their pay and refused to hand it over. The employee had no choice but to file for labor arbitration. However, instead of realizing the employee was not giving up and ending it nicely, the employer decided to accuse the employee of violating company rules and even threatened to pursue legal action themselves.

The employee knows the company has no leg to stand on. They also found out that this scare tactic has been executed on multiple employees, and some ended up giving up on what is rightfully theirs just because they didn't want to deal with the company's threats. If you ask me, it's time this company faces retribution, so I hope this employee will be the one to finally put their former employer in their place…

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  • 01
    Employer handing employee their paycheck.
    via AndreyPopov

    Employer handing employee their paycheck.

    Image for illustrative purposes.

  • 02

    My former employer withheld part of my pay. After I filed a labor dispute, they started threatening me instead.

    I left my previous job a few months ago after working there for around eight months.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 03
    The company withheld roughly a third of my pay for my last couple of months. I tried dealing with it normally first,
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 04
    but we couldn't resolve it, so I eventually filed for labor arbitration. That's when things got weird.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 05
    Instead of just arguing about the unpaid wages, my former employer started saying I had violated company rules and even brought up the possibility
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 06
    of taking legal action against me over a company seal that had been used during my work.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 07
    The strange part is that I was. never given an employee handbook or those company rules while I worked there. I only signed my employment
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 08
    contract. I've also spoken to former coworkers and they said they never received one either.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 09
    Employee happily holding their paycheck.
    via AndreyPopov

    Employee happily holding their paycheck.

    Representative only.

  • 10
    As for the seal issue, the seal/material itself originally came from the company and was connected to work I was doing for them. So hearing it
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 11
    suddenly described as something I had done improperly after I filed the labor dispute was pretty surreal.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 12
    So far I haven't received any actual court or police notice. It has mostly been threats and statements from the company.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 13
    At this point the money honestly isn't even the main reason I'm continuing. It's more that I don't like the idea that an employer can deduct
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 14
    wages, then try to scare someone into backing down when they challenge it.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 15
    Has anyone dealt with an employer suddenly bringing up unrelated accusations after you filed a wage or labor complaint?
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 16
    Inside-Head-2127 OP One thing I left out: this wasn't only happening with me. Some outside contractors/agencies were also trying to get paid, and from what I saw the company wasn't paying some of them either.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 17
    Instead of just settling the payment issue, there was also talk about suing them. At one point I even got pulled into a group chat because those people were asking about money.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 18
    That's part of why the whole thing started feeling less like one isolated dispute and more like a pattern.
    via Inside-Head-2127
  • 19
    NubsackJones Contact your state/county bar association and ask for recommendations for labor lawyers. Labor violations are one thing and can cost them. Weird b it as retaliation- that's where larger pools of money lie.
    via NubsackJones
  • 20
    mysteresc If you haven't already done so, amend your complaint to include the threat.
    via mysteresc

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