Ex disgruntled employee

Arrange to pay with check on the spot in exchange for those items. That, given that you are paying him what he is considering to be owed by you.

 

First thing to do is shut off his fuel card.Don't pay him his final check till he hands everything in and charge him for cleaning of the trk for the next driver you hire.

 

Send him a registered letter that he must sign for. In it state your intentions and a time frame for him to turn in logs and return your items. Tell him when those conditions are met to your satisfaction he will get paid minus your expenses. Also be prepared for unwanted persons on your property.

 

Id file theft charges, but I am not a business owner. Good luck which ever way you go.

 

Follow the employment laws/regulations for your jurisdiction.

In most cases you cannot make deductions from an employee's pay without their prior authorization. You must also process their final pay within a specific time frame. Yes, you can involve law enforcement to retrieve items the ex-employee no longer has the right to be in possession of, but if it is two keys, a fuel card and his logs is it really worth it?

As has been mentioned, that fuel card should have been shut off the second he became an ex-employee.

As has also been suggested, send a registered letter with a demand (best if from your lawyer) for return of all items in the same envelope as his final pay.

Finally, yes you can sue him for any extraordinary charges afterwards, but if you don't follow the law from the start then you severely weaken your position.

 

Would that qualify as a form of abandonment? That would look good to any future employers he may have.

As far as unauthorized deductions for damages, I am not sure as to the legal route to follow unless you had a written policy about witholding expenses from his check. May have to file garnishment against his wages.

 

So, clearly before you fire someone in the future, you should have them turn in their stuff FIRST.

And you should just give the paycheck/a reward for turning them in at this point.

In landlording, it's much easier and cheaper to pay someone to leave than to try to get it afterwards thru the courts (or you can't blood from a turnip applies here too)

 

If he lives locally, tell him to meet you at the Police/Sheriff Station lobby or parking lot, he needs to bring the Company Property, and you will exchange them for his check. If he asks why there, just tell him it is a neutral place to meet and you are trying to resolve it without any issues.