Legal Question in Employment Law in Georgia

Terminated and withholding paycheck

The day after my spouse's (and 3 others) termination at the hospital, she returned to retrieve copies of her performance records, but never left the campus before being called by security to return them as they were hospital property. She has now been told they may prosecute her for theft of these, even though they were returned without leaving the campus, and in the meantime her check, which should have been direct deposited today was being put on hold until the ethics board made a decision. I guess my question is do they have a right to withhold her check for money already made, and secondly, she returned the copies, there was no police involvement, so can they actually prosecute her for theft of hospital property? Any help you can give us will be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 6/12/09, 11:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Re: Terminated and withholding paycheck

A successful escape is not a requirement for a theft charge, and getting caught before she was able to leave the property certainly does not prevent a charge. If she took the records with the intent of taking them off the property, she has a problem. As for the check, in most cases an employee is entitled to their final paycheck but occasionally it takes a little extra time as perhaps they needed to remove her from the auto-pay system. However, since we don't know all facts, anything would be a guess. If they don't pay after the first of the week, or tell you exactly when it is coming, she might call the GA Dept of Labor. Of course, given that they are considering criminal charges, proceed with caution.

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Answered on 6/12/09, 11:31 am


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