Can My Former Employer Take Money Out Of My Last Paycheck And Insurance Reimbursement For Wages I

My former employer withheld money for my taxes on my paychecks but never paid the IRS. How do I get my money back that he withheld?

This happened to me once, years before I ever started working for the IRS. If you received a W2, there's no problem. Simply file your tax return as normal and let the IRS worry about their end of it. You'll still get your refund and/or credit for the taxes paid as if your employer had actually sent them in, even if he's behind in his tax payments.If you didn't receive a W2, I hope you've saved pay check stubs where the employer indicated taxes withheld. If so, you can photocopy all of those pay checks and send them in with your return. It might take a little longer to get your refund and credit for the taxes paid, but you'll get it eventually. If you don't have any proof, your employer still has committed tax fraud. He's broken the law by not filing 941s (or other return designed to report and submit withheld taxes and the employer portion of those taxes), he's broken the law by not submitting the payments, and he's broken the law by not giving you a W2. Contact the IRS. You can start with the customer service number, but eventually, you'll probably have to talk to an individual at the IRS who specializes in tax fraud issues.

How can I compel my employer to reimburse me for business expenses?

If you have put in your receipts and reminded your manager a couple times and been ignored, give it some time and unless they give you a specific reason for rejection, either write them off or start looking for another job. If you decide to stay start demanding money up front for business expenses if they are not paying them back.

Is it legal for an employer to terminate health insurance on the day the employee is fired?

Absolutely, yes.While they must offer you Cobra (and you have some time to qualify for that if needed), there is no requirement they continue to pay for your benefits. Your health insurance is a benefit that is essentially part of your salary - it just goes to the insurer instead of to you. You don’t get paid after you no longer work there, and similarly they don’t have to pay for any other benefits (i.e. health insurance) either.That said, because it would be a hassle to bill on a daily basis, most insurance companies bill on a rotating basis (monthly/30 days is most common, but I have also seen bi-monthly/14-day periods). Because they will have paid for an entire month, and particularly if you leave midway through the month, it isn’t worth the hassle to claim a partial refund from the insurance company to back-cancel the insurance. In those scenarios, since insurance was billed for a month and paid for a month, it will typically continue through the end of the month (the end of the cycle paid for).I have definitely worked at places that have retroactively obtained a refund - and they typically will if they accidently overpay. I worked at one location where I was between jobs for a month and a half, and my previous employer hadn’t completed processing for my cancellation of insurance. My insurance was still current and valid 45 days later, but then when I had to go to the Pharmacy, it turned out it had been retroactively cancelled back to the 30 day mark - so yes, they can do that.A policy for this is typically called out in an employee handbook or HR guide - and if it isn’t, it should be.

What might I tell a former employer who wants me to sign a separation agreement that I don't want to sign? Though not stated explicitly, my employer is making it sound like my final paycheck is contingent upon my signing.

Asshole Man says "Here's your clear, concise response": "I'm not signing that, and I wouldn't even considering signing it without the advice of my attorney. Now, please give me my final paycheck with a full accounting of hours worked, vacation pay accrued, and any deductions you took from my pay."Your final paycheck is not ever a bargaining chip. It is money that you are legally owed, for work you've already performed on the company's behalf for the company's profit. Period.In the US, the EEOC, Department of Labor, and B.O.L.I. have made this quite clear, quite often. It's legally non-negotiable on the Federal level.  State laws are usually very similar and often have harsh penalties for violators.If they actually are foolish enough to withhold your pay for refusing to sign... I know that in Oregon it's worth 2 full days of wages for every day they don't pay me the full amount owed. Many States have similar laws... it's worth checking into.More to the point is that they've already fired you and therefore you owe them nothing at all beyond the return of company owned property. Worse, you have nothing to gain by signing any such agreement; and if they've violated your Rights while you worked for them you may well be signing away your Right to do anything about that. Depending on how this so called agreement is worded you might even be "admitting" to something in the fine print which could bar you from getting unemployment benefits. You may find reading this over a couple of times useful:http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/...http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/...

My employer pays me with cash and takes the taxes, no paycheck stubs, how do I claim this at tax time?

I’m assuming you’re in the US.They must send you a W-2 which will total the amount of taxes withheld and forwarded for you (based on your social security number) to the IRS.If they have not sent you a W-2, containing both your social security number, and the federal employer ID number of the employer, then the employer is breaking the law, and additionally it’s very likely you’ve been scammed, and the employer has just taken the money for themselves.So, if you don’t have the W-2 form, then go to the employer and ask for it right away. They’re already in arrears — the latest date to send it is January 31. If they give you any kind of run-around, then you’re in a sucky place, because all the cash compensation you’ve received likely counts as compensation BEFORE TAX, and you have to report it as self-earned income.If it ends up that way, then this leaves you with multiple possible claims against your employer. First, they probably committed fraud in saying they withheld taxes if they didn’t. Second, they more than likely broke a contract when they paid you less than the agreed-upon amount (given as they withheld money from your payments.) Third, they probably broke a bunch of other employment-related rules in your state (maybe including minimum wage, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, and so forth.) But, that’s a worst-case outcome, and you’ll probably have a hard time proving this in court to be able to collect, unless you have something in writing from the employer. (If it’s just a few thousand dollars, perhaps you could do something in Small Claims court. If it’s you and a number of others in the same boat, you may have a collective claim, and if everything is as bad as you seem to indicate, you might together want to see an employment lawyer about possibilities.)The first thing to do is to ask for the W-2. If that comes out and looks OK, everything’s fine, and you report it as regular W-2 income.(I’m not an accountant, but I file my taxes, and this is not really rocket science. For specific advice about your specific situation, talk to the appropriate financial or legal professional. Shouldn’t really have to be said, but there you go!)