Wife had to pay her toxic employer for not giving two-week notice of resignation. Supposedly, this was in her hire paperwork. Do we still have a case?

Location: Orlando, FL

From June 16th to July 9th, 2025, my wife was employed as a server at a restaurant in the area that was emotionally draining for her from the beginning. She had to memorize an entire menu, memorize all the place’s crazy rules, memorize a four-page script, and some phrases in another language, then be quizzed on all of that WITHIN A WEEK of her employment before she was allowed to start serving.

She was somehow able to pass the test, but despite being told she was going to be eased in with a small table section, they through her to the wolves, and the general manager (GM) would constantly belittle her for not understanding everything about her job within a week. Also, despite being hired to work at a location closer to our apartment, even after completing training, the GM (who managed both locations) only scheduled her at the closer location once a week, insisting that she needed to stay at the further Orlando location. All the servers were not allowed run each other’s food, they were only allowed to focus on their own tasks and tables. Assistant managers were pretty much just hosts during service, they only had bussers on the weekends, and the GM would constantly complain to my wife that she was going too slow. The GM and franchise owner would also be watching employees on the cameras. My wife got in trouble once for quickly grabbing her phone from her locker to let me know that she’s almost done so I can pick her up (she can’t drive). The place does not allow phones, even on your person, and had to be kept in the locker while on the clock, and apparently the GM caught her on camera grabbing her phone.

On July 8th, my wife called out “sick” from work, telling the GM that she was nauseous and had diarrhea, though in reality, she was panicking about working another shift. The final straw was that the GM said that my wife was still responsible for someone to cover her shift. If she was actually sick with a stomach bug, would she still be required to come in?! Sounds like a potential health code violation. The next day, July 10th, my wife texted the GM that she is quitting effective immediately, then blocked the number, not wanting to see what else the GM would text her. Out of rage/celebration, my wife threw away her uniform, not expecting to go back in again. She acknowledges that this wasn’t smart, but what’s done is done.

We were expecting her last direct deposit to come July 17th, but it never did. She contacts the manager via email to find out that the last paycheck has to be picked up physically so that she can return the uniform and sign release forms. Since she threw out the uniform, we were expecting a $50-60 deduction from this last check. Whatever, it is what it is. Fast forward to today, July 23rd, I take her to the main location in Orlando to pick up the check from the franchise owner (the GM is on vacation). However, rather than walking away with a final paycheck of a little over $200, my wife is told that when she was hired, she signed papers saying that she agreed to give at least two weeks notice of resignation, and if not, she would have to pay a fine that would be deducted from her final paycheck. She had no idea she signed that, and if she knew that was in there, she wouldn’t have signed. After the fee and uniform deduction, we apparently owed the place around $180…in cash, which she payed. I told her to get a copy of the paperwork and some sort of receipt for proof of payment, but the owner refused, saying that he will email my wife the information to her email on file “sometime in the future”.

I know she signed a contract upon hire, but this still doesn’t seem completely legal. Do we have a case at all, or are we SOL?