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Some employers refuse to let go once an employee finally walks away.

One woman learned that after quitting a small company with a long history of toxic management and high turnover.

In fact, she left after her boss responded to a complaint by placing her on a performance improvement plan.

Months later, the company claimed it had overpaid her by $2,400 and started chasing her through calls, letters, and eventually a lawsuit.

Instead of giving in, she hired a lawyer and demanded records that could expose the company’s payroll practices.

Read on to see what she plans to do next.

Sued by Ex-Manager

Back in late May 2024, I made the easy but stressful decision to resign from the company I had been with. The decision wasn’t made lightly; the company had a worrying trend of staff turnover triggered by the Narc Boss’ abusive, punitive, blame-shifting, lying, and cheating management style.

Everyone was frustrated. Everyone was stressed to the point of illness. Morale was low.

I received a particularly nasty communication from my boss, and I was at my wit’s end. I screenshotted it and sent it to HR, resulting in my being PIPed.

She resigned but kept in contact with a few coworkers.

I resigned within two weeks of this, without notice, and went on my (planned) vacation. The place was and is still a mess, based on tales from the inside.

In less than half a year, multiple colleagues have walked out (6… and it’s a small firm), some without a word, others voicing their grievances. Several did not give notice (including me).

After handing over all necessary equipment and leaving a forwarding address for any final correspondence, I left. I kept communication lines open for a short period after, just for any final necessities, and then completely shut the door on them by blocking all administrative contacts. I simply did not ever want to hear from these people ever again.

Fast forward to the end of May. I received my final paycheck via direct deposit, which was about half of what I expected it to be. I had worked a full two weeks and had two weeks of vacation saved, so it should have been more.

When she discovered the check, she went ahead and cashed it.

However, after a trip abroad, I discovered a handwritten paper check waiting for me, labeled as a “final payout.” I cashed it, not thinking much of it… till the calls started coming about a month later…

Despite cutting all ties in an attempt to move on peacefully, I started receiving attempts at communication through somewhat creative means—calls to my laptop via iMessage or WhatsApp, letters in the mail (non-certified), claiming I was overpaid by $2,400.

None of these communications contained compelling evidence of an overpayment, so I ignored them, assuming that since the amount was under $3k (less than half what they would have owed me had they actually paid my last paycheck in full rather than stealing hours and PTO from me), they would let it drop.

Then, the police brought her a lawsuit notification.

Nevertheless, I recently received a police-delivered suit notification: they were suing me in another parish (in Louisiana, counties are called parishes) for this alleged overpayment. Their suit contained the same scant evidence their previous contacts did.

This entire scenario, including a seemingly trivial charge for certified mail I never received, comes off as retaliation to me.

An increasingly toxic work environment fueled my decision to leave, and in my defense statement, I noted that I viewed further contact from them as harassment. This is just an attempt by her to control and stress me because she feels entitled to access me despite no longer paying for that access.

The manager was shocked she had evidence to offer.

This is all from a Narc Boss who repeatedly pressured staff to underbill, removed hours from staff timesheets without asking, and would reallocate hours from one client to another (also without asking).

I requested all my time cards from 2022-2024 with their accompanying pay stubs to determine the extent to which I was under- or overpaid by the firm (if at all).

My old coworker (former intern) overheard the narc boss on the phone later that day, losing her absolute mind about this. She did not anticipate being asked to provide more evidence and is used to being a bully to get her way. That only works within your company, babes! Not in the real world…

Now, her attorney thinks they will win the case.

With the help of a lawyer, I drafted a defense detailing the question of their payroll practices, the simple reasonableness of cashing a check addressed to me marked “final payout,” and the unreasonableness of demanding I pay them $2,400 without compelling evidence.

Per my lawyer, who thinks this is all bogus, my absolute worst-case scenario is that the judge sides with her and I am asked to pay it back over time, but that is unlikely given the evidence provided. Ultimately, I am happy to waste her time and frustrate her in the courts. This was her decision to harass me via procedure.

I set the court date to Dec. 17th to ruin the Narc Boss’ holidays.

Nice! The boss deserved that for sure.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think about this whole situation.

It does seem like a small amount.

Yes, that is frustrating.

Here’s someone who wants updates.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who ends up quitting over a dispute over bereavement leave.

It really does sound like that.

Her former boss probably expected that lawsuit to scare her into paying without a fight.

Instead, she hired a lawyer and started asking questions about the company’s own payroll practices.

Now the manager may have to explain far more than a single check marked “final payout.”

Taking this to court could end up creating a much bigger problem for the company than the employee.