So frustrated ~ W2 issue

[stacy347]

I don't know if any of my budget-minded Dis friends will have any insight here, but I sure need to vent!

For the last several years I have worked PT for Target. Never had a problem with them until just now. I have been off work for several months now due to medical issues, so I called HQ to see if my W2 was going to the store or being mailed.

They told me they had mailed it to my old address and then burned it when it was returned to them (she stated this is policy due to the volume of returned W2s).

I haven't lived at that address for 2 years and I know for a fact that they have my new address on file because all of my papers came here for my FMLA! I am furious right now, because she then proceeded to inform me that in order to get a copy of my W2 I have to go through a website they have set up.

OK, that is all fine and dandy except that it costs $10 to access my own W2 and isn't available until Feb 7! The Feb 7th availability isn't a huge deal to me, but I am furious that I have to pay for my W2! I went around and around with them, and they refuse to reissue one to me for free even though it was their error.

I have tried calling the IRS to see how legal this is, but keep getting error messages and being disconnected, ugh.
Have any of you ever been through this? I really feel like they are getting away with taking advantage of people here, but other than the IRS, I don't know where to turn.

 

[bicker]

I haven't lived at that address for 2 years and I know for a fact that they have my new address on file

That's easy to verify - just check your last paycheck. If it has your current address, then they did indeed have it on file. If it had your old address, then that's the source of the problem. (Even directly deposited pay checks should have your home address on them. If they don't then that sucks, because it means you have no way of verifying what address they have on file for you.)

because all of my papers came here for my FMLA!

Never rely on different departments sharing information like that. Your official address for tax purposes is almost always the one on your paycheck.

OK, that is all fine and dandy except that it costs $10 to access my own W2 ... I am furious that I have to pay for my W2!

Contact your state's labor department, file a complaint, and then follow their advice, even if it is to go ahead and pay the $10. Prosecute your concerns through the state labor department - chances are that they're probably going to be your best advocate, rather than anyone within the company itself.

These are probably the folks you want to contact:

Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
Wage and Hour Agency
Ph: (517) 322-1825
P.O. Box 30476
Lansing, MI 48909
whinfo@michigan.gov

 

[stacy347]

Thanks, bicker ~ I appreciate the quick response. I'll dig up a pay stub and double check, but it was done through HR, so it should match up.

I know $10 isn't much, I just feel like it's something that should be addressed, I suppose.
I'm also probably extra sensitive right now as we just found out this weekend that my grandmother is terminal and my head is still spinning from that.

Thanks again for the info ~ I will definitely put it to use!

 

[bicker]

Thanks, bicker ~ I appreciate the quick response. I'll dig up a pay stub and double check, but it was done through HR, so it should match up.

That may be the problem: I don't know about Target, but for many companies, they have an HR department (which deals primarily with hiring, firing, time-off accounting, etc.) and a separate Payroll department (which deals primarily with issuing paychecks, accounting for deductions, administering savings plans, and tax reporting).

I know $10 isn't much, I just feel like it's something that should be addressed, I suppose.

And the folks at the Wage and Hour Agency should be able to tell you if that's the case. Their job is to enforce whatever regulations there might be about that.

 

[abolanwoski]

I saw that you called Target HQ - have you tried going in person to HR or accounting at the Target where you worked? They might be able to print you out a copy on the spot. Worth a try.

 

[vicki_c]

The company is only required to send your W-2 to the address they have on file by 1/31. They are allowed to charge for replacement copies, as far as I know, so that's why they are charging you the $10 (it's not even Target, I'm sure, but the company - usually ADP - that is hosting & providing the online W-2s). I don't believe you have any kind of complaint case about the $10 charge with the State W&H division.

We can get ours online but my company makes them free.

 

[kamik86]

You can't access the target site for employees and just print it from there? That is how my husband got his and he didn't have to pay anything for it. Maybe because he still works there? They don't mail his to him at all he can only get it from the website, but we get it faster that way.

I know my husband had some issues with this website and had to do something with a kiosk in the breakroom to get it fixed though...

Now if only my work would hurry up and send out the health insurance form I need for my MA taxes we would be all done...