Location: San Jose, CA.
Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice or insight.
I used to work for a company in San Jose, California (Vantedge Medical, formerly Vander-Bend). I was terminated on July 25, 2024, and received my final paycheck for $573.27 that same day.
I deposited the check right away, but a few days later my bank (First Tech FCU) notified me it had bounced due to a “stop payment.” I immediately contacted the company, and an HR rep acknowledged the issue. They told me the check should be able to be re-deposited without problems, but that never worked — and after that, they completely stopped responding. It’s been over a year, and I’ve still received nothing.
I’ve since:
Filed a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE)
Reached out to multiple contingency-fee law firms, but none were able to take my case due to the relatively low dollar amount.
Heard nothing back yet — my DLSE case still hasn’t been assigned to a deputy.
I was making $30/hour for 40 hours/week, and from what I understand under Labor Code §203, I might be entitled to waiting time penalties of up to 30 days of wages (~$7,200), on top of the unpaid $573.27.
I’m wondering:
Can I still ask my former employer directly to pay the final check + penalties, or should I just let the DLSE process play out?
Is it too late to recover anything since it’s been over a year?
If they ignored me after initially acknowledging the issue, does that help support the penalty claim?
Any help, advice, or similar experiences would mean a lot. Thanks in advance.
Comments
>Can I still ask my former employer directly to pay the final check + penalties, or should I just let the DLSE process play out?
Yes, no one can guarantee they’ll do anything. Using the DLSE process does not close other avenues of redress.
>Heard nothing back yet — my DLSE case still hasn’t been assigned to a deputy.
Sadly common. The DLSE has way too many cases.
>Is it too late to recover anything since it’s been over a year?
No as long as they haven’t gone bankrupt. Then your claim goes into the bankruptcy court and hope you get something out of it. Though, obviously, the longer it is, the more likely something like that could happen.
>If they ignored me after initially acknowledging the issue, does that help support the penalty claim?
Yes.
>I deposited the check right away, but a few days later my bank >(First Tech FCU) notified me it had bounced due to a “stop payment.”
If you have the documentation about the stop payment. That is also evidence toward the penalty. This means someone called them up and deliberately cancelled the check after it was issue, not that they didn’t have the money. Consider also contacting your local DA. Something like this may be eligible for California’s criminal wage theft statute. The police are supposed to take police reports for this, but generally refuse as most still have no idea there is a criminal wage theft statute.