Legal Question in Employment Law in Georgia
My former employer, of where I resigned in Sept 2014, (Pickens County Board of Education, Georgia) recently sent me a check for $225, stating that is was a "refund deduction" from my VALIC account...from approximately two years ago! I took a hardship withdrawal from the account in September of 2012, almost depleting it, although it's still "active", but only with approx $2 remaining, according to the quarterly statements I receive by email.
The letter accompanying this check instructs me that: "It is a counter check due to it being a refund from a prior year. Please cash or deposit this as soon as possible" (this is the exact wording).
The mere fact that the employer held on to my funds, after VALIC returned the three separate contributions, in three separate checks, infuriates me. They held on to my money for approximately two years, with no explanation during that time.
I feel that their actions show retaliatory motives, due to the fact that I lead a lawsuit against the school district, for unfair wage practices. The suit remained in litigation for approximately three years, and recently ended with the court siding with my employer's defense of sovereign immunity. That was my que to resign, as it was made obvious that continued employment would be difficult to bare.
My question to this forum is: What kind of damages may I seek for this very unprofessional action? I made a copy of the check, and have the accompanying letter, but deposited the check this morning. My former employer seems to be trying to sweep this under the rug.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can spend significant time and money and if you win you might get a few dollars for the interest on $225. This is not a battle to take on.
My first question was how did a county school board escape liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act under sovereign immunity. That applies only to state institutions, not county or municipal ones.
Anyway, I doubt that you have a winnable case for retaliation. There are too many other plausible explanations for their failure to pay the funds to you. Moreover, the amount in controversy is just too small to warrant a lawsuit.
Michael Caldwell
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