I received a letter from an old employee stating that he had lost, but recently found a paycheck from 10/29/1999. We have since closed that bank account. What are our rights in regards to paying the check? We don't even have records to check to see if we cancelled or re-issued this paycheck.
You may be able to contact your former bank to find out if it had a stop payment order on the old check. On the other hand, even the bank might not have records reaching back that far. Seven years is about as long as most banks keep that sort of record. Another question is whether state law requires your business to honor a payroll claim that's over seven years old.
Seven years stretches our credibility for a former employee a bit too far; however, you may decide that you'd rather replace the old check, even if it's a second time, rather than risk that this former employee might try to leverage his position by talking to the press. The dollars involved are probably not worth getting involved in a court case, but if you want to know with some certainty what your legal position is on this question, check with an attorney who knows the labor laws in your state.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 6/05/08
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You may be able to contact your former bank to find out if it had a stop payment order on the old check. On the other hand, even the bank might not have records reaching back that far. Seven years is about as long as most banks keep that sort of record. Another question is whether state law requires your business to honor a payroll claim that's over seven years old. 