By: Gary (The Payroll Guru) Gagner

Has this ever happened to you, in the event it has, thought we would give you the how-to on Unclaimed wages. You request a final check for an employee who gives you notice that they were leaving and then they departed. The check arrives the next day, you forward it to the employee’s home address and you receive it back from the post office and it is marked “ moved – no forwarding address”, now what?

Although this may seem unlikely, paychecks that are unclaimed and uncashed by employees is a challenge that we frequently face. These unclaimed wages become a form of “abandoned property “ and we are required to pay the unclaimed wages to the appropriate state treasurer after the wages remain unclaimed for 1 year. (varies by state, but the vast majority of states consider the wages as abandoned after 1 year). We are also required to inform the state treasurer the employee’s last known address, amount and payment date of the unclaimed wages and the date of last contact with the employee.

What To Do

Do not let unclaimed paychecks lay around in a desk drawer. If they are unclaimed, return them to us immediately and we will attempt to contact the employee by all means possible. We will work diligently to get the wages to the employee so wages don’t become unclaimed.

For more information on how to handle unclaimed wages contact your Emplicity Payroll Representative at 877.HR.MADEZ (476.2339) ext. 4