I was working in property management and was told the property was being put up for sale. We were all told as long as the sale went through, we would receive a severance pay and a sales bonus. Well, myself and a few others were not offered positions with either company and yesterday was our last day. We packed up everything that was asked of us and I finished up with my job as I was supposed to. I also double verified if I would receive a severance. I was told yes. Also, we were told before the dm left that the sales papers were in fact signed and we are to call tomorrow (today, the 4th) to find out if we can pick up all of our checks (severance, sales bonus, and final pay). Our commissions would come on the pay day, which is the 13th. This morning I get a call from an ex-co-worker and she tells me that the camera went missing and the dm is saying that they will with hold ALL of our checks until the camera shows up. No one took it and we believe it is packed in a box and the dm doesn't want to search for it because she must seriously think someone took it. The last person who had it was her.

What should we do? We have been jerked around the whole sale (5 months) and now I am unemployed and they have not allowed us to sign the termination paperwork. They will allow us to sign it AFTER we pick up our checks which they are now not releasing to us. This will obviously effect the unemployment claim I made yesterday since it shows I am technically employed but I am not really because yesterday was my last day...I am no longer getting paid by this company...

Oh, and the best part about all of this is that they never put anything in writing and never replied to any email that asked about the sales bonus or severance. We were all told what our sales bonuses were last week so we all have the money amounts and we know what we will get for severance for those who have no job at all...

PLEASE help!! I need help on this. This is super serious and I have a family to take care of...

Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.