Why Would an Employer Hold Back Pay from an Employee?

Employee and Employer Heatedly Discussing CaseWhen an employer and employee enter into contract, both sides have expectations of the other that dictates the working relationship. Employers expect employees to complete the job and work the proper number of hours.

Employees expect to be paid for the hours he or she worked without any problems. Unfortunately, the latter doesn’t always happen, and employers may refuse to pay a portion of the employee’s paycheck for one reason or another.

For any employee, understanding what would motivate the employer to avoid paying proper wages can be helpful when taking legal action:

  • Cutting costs: Some employers feel the impact of an economy more than others and instead of letting people go and losing production, they may try to get more work out of individuals without paying the wages (unpaid overtime).
  • Discrimination: In some situations, employers may try to overwork certain employees without paying them as a form of discrimination based on race, gender, or other characteristics.
  • Retaliation: This occurs in situations where the employer feels the employee did something to wrong them and tries to force the employee to work overtime; however, they may try to do so without paying the employee.

There are very few reasons that an employer can legally withhold any amount of the employee’s wages, such as through voluntary deductions, income withholdings through court orders, employee benefits, and company losses caused by the employee.

In any situation where wages are illegally withheld, the employee can take legal action against the employer to seek the funds they earned. Our Michigan employment law attorneys at Fieger Law are here to help!

We hold employers accountable when they refuse to pay wages that employees have rightfully earned. Employers who have wrongfully withheld pay should be held accountable. There’s no telling how many employees have fallen victim to the employer’s unscrupulous actions.

If you haven’t received pay for hours that you lawfully worked, call our firm at (800) 294-6637 to speak with our team about your needs.


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