Seyfarth Synopsis: An employer did
not incur waiting time penalties for inadvertently misstating the
amount of pay on a final paycheck, but was liable for its delay in
correcting the error. And, by taking an appeal from a Labor
Commission award, the employer incurred liability for large
attorney's fees even though the employee succeeded on only one
small claim.
The Facts
Taryn Nishiki was an office manager and paralegal at a law firm.
She resigned via email at 6:38 p.m. on Friday, November 14. On
Tuesday, November 18, the firm mailed her final paycheck. The
numerical information on the check was right, but the spelling of
the number understated the amount by $80. Eight days later, on
Wednesday, November 26, Nishiki reported she could not cash the
check, because of this inconsistency. The firm responded that it
could not confirm the error because no check had been refused or
returned. The next Monday, December 1, the firm told Nishiki she
could either return the
