Carl Jr's Hardee's ripoff Maryville Missouri

In the interest of accuracy and ethics, I have to supplement my previous rebuttal. I researched the matter a bit, and found that Missouri's Wage & Hour Division operates differently from that in most states.

The following is the relevant information regarding the applicable law:

"Wages are due at the time of termination. If not paid at that time, the employee should contact their former employer by certified mail return receipt requested, requesting wages that are due. The employer would have seven days to respond to the written request. If the employer does not respond in seven days, because the state of Missouri does not have authority to collect wages for any individual, any moneys due would have to be collected by private legal action. Suit may be filed in Small Claims Court if the amount claimed is under $3,000.00 or by private attorney for a greater amount."

So my original rebuttal was inaccurate in a few respects.

First, it looks like the State of Missouri requires employers to pay their terminated employees all wages due at the time of termination, so the reporter's complaint is NOT premature.

Second, it looks like you do need to go with the certified letter. The employer then has seven days to respond (but that does not mean they have to pay whatever you demand within that seven days, if they have a legitimate disagreement with your claim).

Third, the Wage and Hour Division in Missouri, unlike in most states, lacks the jurisdiction to prosecute your claim. So, if they don't pay what you think you are owed, your only recourse is small claims court.

So, apologetically, I must admit that the process is not as "easy" as I originally stated.

But it's still not all that complicated. Chances are they will pony up on receipt of your letter, if your claims are legitimate. If they don't, small claims isn't all that complicated and you don't need a lawyer for it. Your local court clerk will let you know what you need to do to get the ball rolling.

You will then need to obtain records of the time you worked (i.e. old time cards, which are kept by the employer) and payroll records. If the employer won't willingly hand them over, you can obtain a court order requiring them to do so.

If the amount paid to you doesn't match up with the time worked, then your case is open-and-shut. Otherwise, you have a significant evidentiary problem and will probably not prevail in court (unless they don't show up to defend themselves).

As the only evidentiary issue is whether the time cards match the paystubs, there really is no reason to record phone conversations or anything like that.

On a side note, and to address a couple other of the Dr.'s assertions: DO NOT contact your local police regarding this matter. This is not a criminal issue, so the police have no jurisdiction over it. Also, DO NOT contact the NLRB. They handle disputes between unions and management and likewise lack any kind of jurisdiction to handle your problem.

Again, my sincere apologies for any misinformation I may have originally relayed. My original rebuttal was based on the majority rule and, apparently, Missouri follows the road less traveled.

Good luck!

Dr. Cheryl,

Your rebuttal had some great info in it, but you're making this much more complicated than it need be and including some stuff that just isn't right.

The EEOC is a federal agency that handles employment discrimination claims. They do not deal with, or have any jurisdiction to deal with, matters such as those presented here.

A lawyer isn't necessary at this point, nor are any complicated mailings or oddball demands for alternative payment mediums.

First, the facts: the employee was terminated on July 28, which was a Friday. He filed this report the following Wednesday.

Now, the rule of law: in most (if not all) states, the law is that the terminated employee must receive his final payment according to the normal pay schedule. Some states have a law requiring final payment within 10 days.

Now, the application of the rule: unless, under the normal pay schedule, the pay for Friday, July 28 would be received by Wednesday, August 2, the terminated employee's complaint is premature.

So here's what needs to be done.

1) Wait until the end of the pay cycle in which which you should, according to the business' normal pay schedule, receive payment for your final workday. In some establishments, this may be up to three weeks after termination.

2) At that point, tally up all of the hours for which you believe you have not been paid.

3) Then, send the employer a letter (don't just send it to your manager, send it to the corporate office) detailing what you believe you are owed, along with a threat to take the action in step 4 if you are not paid within 30 days. A certified mailing is not necessary unless you want to know that they received the letter, your legal rights won't be affected by not sending a certified letter as you are already entitled to the payments (maybe).

4) If they do not pay you as demanded, file a complaint with your state's wage and hour division. You should be able to find their website online (do a google with "missouri wage hour labor"). Their website should have a complaint form with the appropriate instructions.

Don't get all hung up on demanding a money order and verifying the validity of the money order. If they give you a check that doesn't clear, include that information in a wage and hour complaint.

If you need to get to step 4, rest assured that the wage and hour folks will take care of it from there.

See? It's that easy.

Dr. Cheryl,

Your rebuttal had some great info in it, but you're making this much more complicated than it need be and including some stuff that just isn't right.

The EEOC is a federal agency that handles employment discrimination claims. They do not deal with, or have any jurisdiction to deal with, matters such as those presented here.

A lawyer isn't necessary at this point, nor are any complicated mailings or oddball demands for alternative payment mediums.

First, the facts: the employee was terminated on July 28, which was a Friday. He filed this report the following Wednesday.

Now, the rule of law: in most (if not all) states, the law is that the terminated employee must receive his final payment according to the normal pay schedule. Some states have a law requiring final payment within 10 days.

Now, the application of the rule: unless, under the normal pay schedule, the pay for Friday, July 28 would be received by Wednesday, August 2, the terminated employee's complaint is premature.

So here's what needs to be done.

1) Wait until the end of the pay cycle in which which you should, according to the business' normal pay schedule, receive payment for your final workday. In some establishments, this may be up to three weeks after termination.

2) At that point, tally up all of the hours for which you believe you have not been paid.

3) Then, send the employer a letter (don't just send it to your manager, send it to the corporate office) detailing what you believe you are owed, along with a threat to take the action in step 4 if you are not paid within 30 days. A certified mailing is not necessary unless you want to know that they received the letter, your legal rights won't be affected by not sending a certified letter as you are already entitled to the payments (maybe).

4) If they do not pay you as demanded, file a complaint with your state's wage and hour division. You should be able to find their website online (do a google with "missouri wage hour labor"). Their website should have a complaint form with the appropriate instructions.

Don't get all hung up on demanding a money order and verifying the validity of the money order. If they give you a check that doesn't clear, include that information in a wage and hour complaint.

If you need to get to step 4, rest assured that the wage and hour folks will take care of it from there.

See? It's that easy.

Dr. Cheryl,

Your rebuttal had some great info in it, but you're making this much more complicated than it need be and including some stuff that just isn't right.

The EEOC is a federal agency that handles employment discrimination claims. They do not deal with, or have any jurisdiction to deal with, matters such as those presented here.

A lawyer isn't necessary at this point, nor are any complicated mailings or oddball demands for alternative payment mediums.

First, the facts: the employee was terminated on July 28, which was a Friday. He filed this report the following Wednesday.

Now, the rule of law: in most (if not all) states, the law is that the terminated employee must receive his final payment according to the normal pay schedule. Some states have a law requiring final payment within 10 days.

Now, the application of the rule: unless, under the normal pay schedule, the pay for Friday, July 28 would be received by Wednesday, August 2, the terminated employee's complaint is premature.

So here's what needs to be done.

1) Wait until the end of the pay cycle in which which you should, according to the business' normal pay schedule, receive payment for your final workday. In some establishments, this may be up to three weeks after termination.

2) At that point, tally up all of the hours for which you believe you have not been paid.

3) Then, send the employer a letter (don't just send it to your manager, send it to the corporate office) detailing what you believe you are owed, along with a threat to take the action in step 4 if you are not paid within 30 days. A certified mailing is not necessary unless you want to know that they received the letter, your legal rights won't be affected by not sending a certified letter as you are already entitled to the payments (maybe).

4) If they do not pay you as demanded, file a complaint with your state's wage and hour division. You should be able to find their website online (do a google with "missouri wage hour labor"). Their website should have a complaint form with the appropriate instructions.

Don't get all hung up on demanding a money order and verifying the validity of the money order. If they give you a check that doesn't clear, include that information in a wage and hour complaint.

If you need to get to step 4, rest assured that the wage and hour folks will take care of it from there.

See? It's that easy.

Dr. Cheryl,

Your rebuttal had some great info in it, but you're making this much more complicated than it need be and including some stuff that just isn't right.

The EEOC is a federal agency that handles employment discrimination claims. They do not deal with, or have any jurisdiction to deal with, matters such as those presented here.

A lawyer isn't necessary at this point, nor are any complicated mailings or oddball demands for alternative payment mediums.

First, the facts: the employee was terminated on July 28, which was a Friday. He filed this report the following Wednesday.

Now, the rule of law: in most (if not all) states, the law is that the terminated employee must receive his final payment according to the normal pay schedule. Some states have a law requiring final payment within 10 days.

Now, the application of the rule: unless, under the normal pay schedule, the pay for Friday, July 28 would be received by Wednesday, August 2, the terminated employee's complaint is premature.

So here's what needs to be done.

1) Wait until the end of the pay cycle in which which you should, according to the business' normal pay schedule, receive payment for your final workday. In some establishments, this may be up to three weeks after termination.

2) At that point, tally up all of the hours for which you believe you have not been paid.

3) Then, send the employer a letter (don't just send it to your manager, send it to the corporate office) detailing what you believe you are owed, along with a threat to take the action in step 4 if you are not paid within 30 days. A certified mailing is not necessary unless you want to know that they received the letter, your legal rights won't be affected by not sending a certified letter as you are already entitled to the payments (maybe).

4) If they do not pay you as demanded, file a complaint with your state's wage and hour division. You should be able to find their website online (do a google with "missouri wage hour labor"). Their website should have a complaint form with the appropriate instructions.

Don't get all hung up on demanding a money order and verifying the validity of the money order. If they give you a check that doesn't clear, include that information in a wage and hour complaint.

If you need to get to step 4, rest assured that the wage and hour folks will take care of it from there.

See? It's that easy.

I am so sorry you were treated unfairly and have not gotten the money that is due you. :(

You may want to try contacting the following agencies/offices and they may be able to tell you how to go about getting your money:

(1) Write a letter to your former employer and send it certified mail with a return recipient (or use UPS/Federal Express), also fax a copy (if you do not have the fax number have someone else call and merely ask for the fax number), and e-mail a copy (also send it to the corporate office they need to be advised of what is going on with their franchises) if you have it. What you have done is given them three (3) ways to get the letter asking for your money. This stops all of those pitiful excuses of "I am sorry I did not get the letter", good grief IF they didn't get the letter after all of the work you have done, this company needs to closed it's doors for ineffective business operations! Gosh!

(a) Be very detailed in your letter, make sure you ask for what you want. Be specific! Please do not say something like "hey I want my money", that is too subjective and what may happen is that you and your former employer will probably go around and around for weeks or even months! :) Example: I would like to have my wages of $539.69 (net) in the form of a certified check or money order by 15 August 2006, by 5:00pm (CST). By asking for your funds in a certified check or money order you are basically saying "I do not want a stop payment or a bounced check". I have a client I was working with and we thought the situation was done, the company said they would send him a check for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00, okay cool we thought. Yeah, you guessed it, he got the check (not for the amount above of course but for what we had asked for) and there was a stop payment on the check. To make matters worse the client had already deposited the check and the bank said the money was available so he wrote checks off of his account and a few days later he has a "NSF" on his checking account because he didn't have enough money in his account and the check he wrote me for my fees bounced and fees were taken out of my account as well. In other words a MESS! Hey you live and learn.

Now I advise my clients that I do mediation/consulting for (to be clear I am human resources consultant, NOT a lawyer) I suggest all funds be in the form of a certified check or money order. A company wanting to put an end to the situation will gladly do this, a shucking-and-jiving company will have an excuse for not getting a money order or certified check. Period. *Call the number listed on the front/back of the money order to make sure the transaction is valid. Oh yeah, I have had an unscrupulous business give a client a "fake" money order and that was a MESS too! Sigh! (I would call for verification right in front of the company before you sign anything or leave the office.)

(2) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (you can find their website and/or other contact information). Be aware that by filing an EEOC claim it may take up to 180 days or even 300 days before they contact you, but this is still a great option because the EEOC normally contacts the employer to inform them a charge has been filed.

(3) Wage and Hour (Department of Labor), call this agency and tell them about what has happened. This is normally listed under the "Federal" pages in your local telephone book.

(4) Consult an attorney or special interest group and tell them what has happened. (a) You can even file a police report in some countries, cities, states, about what has happened and if you have to go to court you will have a paper trail. (Be discreet about contacting the police, do not call them everyday or you will lose your creditability.)

(5) Write a letter or send copies to the local news stations in your area or surrounding areas. Often news programs are looking for a good story. Whether they accept your story or not is left up to them, but you are definitely putting many people, organizations, and agencies on notice that something "may" be wrong with your former employer. (I have to say "may" because I was not there of course, and do not know the full story.)

(6) You may want to contact the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), most times the NLRB represents unions and/or union activity, but hey it is worth a shot and it is free. It only takes your time. Whether the charge sticks or not, the employer is notified by the NLRB via a certified letter that a pending charge is filed against them. (Sometimes this alone will make an employer do the right thing----in your case give you your wages, etc.)

(7) Be professional! I know, I know, it is very hard, especially when you are upset and/or feel you have been discriminated against or treated in a disparate manner, but I tell people all the time do not send a letter that says something like this (and I am NOT using the full words----you all get the picture): "Dear Mr. Smith: Yur go- dam- fuc---- product was a piece of sh*t!!!!!!!! You can go to hel- and kiss my a--"

I will not go on with the sample letter, we all get the picture here. That is not very professional and it probably will not get you very far. You can say the same things without cussing or using such words. I do it all the time, with my tone and choice of words. Also watch spelling, I am not saying you need to have a Ph.D. in English to send a complaint letter to a company, but it does reflect your image on paper (whether it be the right image or wrong image). Try to take your time, proof read the letter, and then proof read it again. NEVER, NEVER, send anything when you are angry/mad/upset. I know it is hard not to, but please wait until you have cooled down. Even when I get a "nasty" e-mail or phone call, I will often leave my office (seriously) and take 10 minutes or 1 hour or whatever I need to do to properly cool off. And most times the letter I write after I have cooled off is more detailed, professional, and just better all the way around. It's okay to write a letter when you are mad, just do not send it. Keep the letter and print it off and look at the letter two days later, you will probably chuckle to yourself and realize you are so much better off having waited to send a more professional letter. Even if the company you are writing is very unscrupulous do not stoop to that level and become as unprofessional and tacky as they are.

It is amazing what a detailed letter from me (or from YOU) can do to change the situation. I send letters for myself and/or for my clients all the time and just ONE letter often can change a situation. When employers or people know that a "paper trial" is forming, they often bail out and make good on the situation. Of course this is not always the case or we would not have lawyers and court systems, but it does help sometimes. And writing a letter for the most part is FREE, just need a computer, printer (for hard copies), a stamp, a piece of paper, and you are pretty much done.

I hope this has helped.

Remember to keep your head up and do not get too stressed out over this. Life happens. Sometimes life can give you some strange twists and turns but somehow in the end almost everything works out for the best.

Have a great day and a wonderful week.

Very Sincerely,


Dr. Fields

PS: Keep all voice mail messages and you may want to record when you are talking to your former employer. (Be upfront and state "this telephone call may be recorded, do you object? Please advise. Notice their behavior are they okay with it? Or do they need to call you back? Are there pauses and unclear statements? You will know. You will get an inference.) Consider a hidden camera or wearing a hidden mic if necessary. It is AMAZING how people change when they see themselves on a video or hearing words they have left on a voice mail message. Also make sure you are professional and do not leave a nasty voice mails or something that may come back to hunt you later. Act very cautiously and be patient. Be careful there are ways to trace your e-mail and telephone number. IF you have to be nasty do it from a public pay phone located on the opposite end of where you live (i.e. if you live in North Texas, go to South Texas to use the phone or send a fax or whatever), and use a public computer place to send your e-mails (Kinko's, etc.). That makes it more difficult to trace. Also be advised that even if you do send something from your home computer, one still has to prove that YOU sent it, I could have been at your home using the computer and sent this to the employer. (Highly unlikely, but possible and that is what is important IF you go to court, you have to have proof!)