WA Employment Laws?

[cbzdel]

Looking for some advice here because I am not sure what our options are in this case.

Within the last couple weeks my wife discovered a couple of shocking items about her job. She works for a small business and its recently had some apparent financial trouble. First it was one persons check bounced then another and another, I think 5 or 6 in the past month. Never hers though. This put us on edge so she began looking for new work, but is not having the best of luck so far. She went and got the office mail just last week and in the mail were 401k statements. Something we never thought about and realized we haven't seen a statement in over a year. She opened hers and NOTHING has been deposited into her account since Dec 2015. Several thousand dollars of hers has been stolen. She confronted the owner and he pulled the sad story of things are tight and he will fix it when he can.

With payroll checks bouncing left and right and now the stolen 401k money, there is obvious signs the business is failing and could close any day. Do we have any options to attempt to recover this money before the business closes its doors completely? We do need her income so its not something she can just walk away from and she takes time off to find a new job either.

I have no idea what to do in this case, do we have options or are we just SOL at this point because we didnt monitor it close enough? She did cancel all 401k deductions since it just goes straight back to the owners pocket.

Thanks in advance guys, this is really stressful and I am having trouble researching how to handle this.

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[Jerry]

I would contact the Attorney General's office for starters. Might not be the folks that will handle it, but I'll bet they will send you in the right direction.

Good Luck

 

[CountryGent]

Contacting the Attorney General's office is a good idea. Considering you're talking thousands here, consulting a local attorney may be a good place to start with guidance on the steps to take.

Beyond that, maybe getting in touch with US Department of Labor? I remember reading about some cases like this in which DOL got involved and prosecuted the bad actors. A quick search landed on this list of such examples.

Good luck.

 

[clearconscience]

Yeah I would call the bureau of labor and industries.

This is theft, fraud, etc. they need to be prosecuted and sued. Sad that if they are truly broke you may not get anything or see it for a while, but it needs stopped before it gets worse

 

[Stomper]

The business owner said they'd "make it right" on the 401K's.... does that include the dividends you may have earned during the time it was SUPPOSSED to be in your account?!

Does the business owner still live in a big fancy house, drive a nice car, and wear expensive clothes?

 

[Joe13]

Lawyer up and he will be bent over in prison.

 

[No_Regerts]

Lawyer up and he will be bent over in prison.

Come on now, that doesn't happen...right?

 

[Osarion]

Step 1 - Call the police
Step 2 - Hire attorney
Step 3 - Find new job fast

Good luck

 

[Brutus57]

Figure out how much she is owed, get an attorney and file a lien against the business ASAP.

Brutus Out

 

[The Heretic]

I haven't read the whole thread, but the employment law is fairly strict on paychecks and 401K. If an org is going under, employees get paid before all other creditors. The 401K I believe would be considered fraud and theft. I would start by contacting various mentioned state agencies and go from there.

I would also check that your taxes are getting paid - if not, contact the IRS.

 

[Ura-Ki]

What Brutus Said! Might take it further and file a lien on the owners home and assets! Call the State Labor and Industry ASAP, And hire an attorney!!!

 

[Stomper]

It sounds like your wife can't afford TO work there... they didn't even have the bubblegumming character to discuss their situation with their employees.... they bubblegumming embezzled y'alls money!! Heretic is correct... better make sure they paid the payroll tax!


I'd be on a friggin' RAMPAGING TEAR if I got ripped off like that. It's bad enough the government does the same thing to us all on the backend of things, but getting it on the front end, too?!

 

[Member 5605]

If my wife was in this situation....


I would already have been in contact with those who it matters.

Attorney Office
BOLI
IRS

In that order.

 

[cbzdel]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I am sure I can find out the answer to this when some calls are made but as I mentioned we need both of our incomes to pay the bills, we will be in our own personal financial trouble if she just walks away from her job. I have always been told if you quit your job you do not qualify for unemployment. I am just thinking worst case, if she walks away and it takes months to land a new position that would really hurt our own family financially. At least if it went out of business she would then qualify for unemployment.

Or does all of this get reported and she continues to go to work until told otherwise?

Again I will learn all in time, just thinking out loud at this point.

Bad part about this, she has personally known the owner for almost 12 years now, and he offered her the job when we really needed it, and now this.. Turn in someone you have though you had been "friends" with for over a decade. That makes this whole mess that much harder to deal with.

 

[Stomper]

Hang in there, but remember... FRIENDS don't steal from friends, you have NOTHING to feel guilty about!! You should at least have her immediately stop the 401K payroll deductions.... at least THAT will go into your pockets and not the boss's.

 

[cbzdel]

You should at least have her immediately stop the 401K payroll deductions.... at least THAT will go into your pockets and not the boss's.

Yes she did that immediately when she was told we will fix it when we can.

 

[The Heretic]

Contact the employment office, and get it in writing from them, but if an employer is not paying you, then I believe it isn't considered quitting if you walk away.

Getting Paid

Also check to make sure they have been paying the unemployment insurance.

 

[The Heretic]

http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/fi...ights-and-responsibilities-as-an-employee.pdf

 

[cooper]

I would contact the Attorney General's office for starters. Might not be the folks that will handle it, but I'll bet they will send you in the right direction.

Good Luck

I WOULD DO THAT AND.......HELP OWNER COLLECT EQUIVALENT EQUIPMENT/PROPERTY THAT HE/SHE WOULD PAWN ( AT THE SHOP OF THEIR CHOICE OF COURSE ) HELL....I'D PROBABLY EVEN DRIVE EM
I AM A NICE CITIZEN....AN ANGRY FAMILY COULD GET SATISFACTION OVER TIME. THE HATE THAT JUST KEEPS GIVING.

LEGALLY I WOULD POUR GAS ON DELINQUENT SCUMBAG.
BEST WISHES AND SO SORRY TO SEE YOUR AGONY

 

[cbzdel]

Update:
She has spent the morning making call to various offices and even a legal office. This is all being retyped based on what my wife is telling me, so I hope nothing is lost in translation.

Unemployment can not be guaranteed in advance, they review all cases and determine if its a valid reason to walk away from a paycheck. When asked if they could give any advice on how it could turn out they just kept saying submit a claim and see how it turns out and my wife's response was if I do that my employer will be aware of what is happening. They said she can not have it both ways, she either commits to working or commits to quitting.

What the lawyer said was one would think not paying 401k is a valid reason to leave a job, but has seen worse claims denied. He said its really a gamble when you quit. He said if denied you can appeal it, but again you have to prove its a valid reason to walk away from a regular paycheck.

Talked to Attorney Generals office as well as the Dept. of Labor. Both said they could file paperwork to attempt to recover a portion of the 401k, only my wifes portion, not the company matched portion. They said the matched portion is a benefit so would need a lawyer for that. They said if they proceed with the filing, she needs to keep in mind she will be working for an employer that she is basically suing so things could get even uglier even faster..

No department cared at all that payroll taxes were not being paid, and no department seemed very concerned that 401k theft was a big deal. She said she was being handled like this was just a minor slap on the wrist..

Basically we feel like we are being told, we can help you but its not going to be pretty unless you leave the company. And if you leave the company you might be on your own financially.