Background: Located in Texas. I work in a field that is incredibly corrupt and corporations generally just take advantage of kids with special needs for hefty insurance payouts. Like $100k+ is generated annually per kid regardless of whether progress is made or not. Despite the prevalence of really bad practices in the industry, my certification board requires that I provide 30 days' notice. I once got a slap on the wrist for refusing to participate in felony fraud despite submitting a literal binder of evidence. I was really transparent in my interview that I didn't want anything to do with fraud and cutting corners because of that, and assumed that I had found somewhere decent when they sent an employment offer anyway. I'm an idiot and I took a $10k signing bonus, but I was smart enough to never sign anything agreeing to payroll deductions, as written authorization is required in my state.
This is what I signed. Note that there is no repayment timeline or mention of taking payment from my wages:
“This position is eligible for a $10,000.00 sign-on bonus, paid on the first pay period following your start date. If you voluntarily terminate employment prior to 12 months from the start date listed above, you agree to repay to (company) the total amount of the bonus.”
It became clear to me pretty quickly that this company was actually one of the worst I've encountered. I resigned 4 months into it. So anyway, when I was terminated halfway through my resignation – just two days before my regularly scheduled payday – the HR director briefly discussed my repayment options with me and possible negotiation of what I owed for a non-disparagement agreement. I immediately shot him down when he said I could do payroll deductions toward it, and reminded him that I never authorized anything being taken out of my paycheck.
Payday rolled around two days later and I received a pay stub but no direct deposit. My calls, texts, and emails were ignored until the HR director emailed me three days later to send me an invoice for the remainder of my bonus (after 3.5 weeks of wages were put toward my supposed “debt”). To this day, ADP shows that I was paid in full for the first two weeks of January. There is no documentation whatsoever of the wages I earned or deductions made by the employer for the last half of the month. I was terminated on January 25 and quite literally never received a penny of the wages I worked for in January.
The DOL isn't investigating because they don't have the resources. Texas Workforce Commission will take at least 65 days to assign an investigator for my unpaid wage claim, plus whatever time the company decides to waste putting me through the appeals process. Today, after getting confirmation from a wage and hour law agent that the company's response was mailed to me at the end of February, I received a rebuttal notice from TWC… for someone else's wage claim, full of their personal info, and I'm wondering where the hell mine got sent off to.
My accounts have been in the negative for over a month now. My credit has taken a hit. I had to borrow money from a relative to make rent. It's all been really traumatic and I hate that the company will likely incur 0 penalties for essentially tricking me into working for 3.5 weeks without pay.
Any ideas? Can I press charges for theft of services or anything in this situation? It's bonkers to me that people can be placed at risk of losing everything due to employer pettiness.