My wife was a Store Manager at a local Super10 Store in Norfolk, VA. She gave her two weeks notice prior to terminating her employment on Feb 1st. On her last day she informed her boss that she lost the backup set of keys to the store. Can her boss withhold her last paycheck for a lost set of keys?

If she lost her keys and they had to be replaced (whatever that may have involved) the cost of those keys is her resposibility. When keys are lost at the end of employment it usually looks like the loss was due to spite.

Your wife can file in Small Claims Court for her last paycheck, her employer will undoubtedly counter with the cost of the keys (and/or locks) and a Judge will decide.

How could your wife just "misplace or lose" the backup keys to the store? Why didn't she report the keys lost/misplaced when the incident first happened? Sounds fishy to me. She surely had the backup keys in a safe place. Now the store will have to change all the locks and deduct the cost from her last check.

They can't withhold her check, but they can deduct the cost of replacing the locks.

And if this involves a major rekeying and dozens of new keys I am not sure what the cost could be, compared to her pay check, but they can take out the cost and if her paycheck is not enough to cover the cost they could sue for the balance.

They can't withhold her check, but they can deduct the cost of replacing the locks.


My niece managed a Stop and Gas (or something along those lines) in College and she said when she was hired she signed an agreement that any lost/missing keys and the cost of replacing keys and/or locks would be subtracted from her final check.

I don't know if that is the case here.

My niece managed a Stop and Gas (or something along those lines) in College and she said when she was hired she signed an agreement that any lost/missing keys and the cost of replacing keys and/or locks would be subtracted from her final check.

I don't know if that is the case here.

I agree. It's usually something along those lines especially when one is a manager.