Personal Privacy

[mccaverty]

This may seem like a trivial concern, but I recently received my Statement of Wages form from the Trustee, and it has the word "bankruptcy" all over it. It needs to be signed by the Payroll Auditor. I've been at my job now for almost nine years...and I know, technically, these issues should remain confidential...but I also know that my coworkers in the Accounting department are only human.

I really don't want anyone where I work to know that I'm in the bankrupcty process unless I choose to tell them, and fortunately part of my job involves scanning and editing documents, so I can probably figure out a way to remove all the "bankruptcy" words (although I'm sure it won't be hard to figure out why I need the wage information, regardless). I don't know - I'm just venting...is this just part of the price we pay for being "lucky" enough to discharge our debts?

[Flamingo]

I totally understand where you are coming from. Note that part of HR's job is to verify employment and other matters concerning employees; i.e., whether they work there, their salary, etc., say when you apply for financing for a mortgage or car or other loan requiring verification of employment and income. The HR folks are not to discuss nor divulge that informatoin to anyone else in your company without your permission so when you have that form verified, mention to the person signing it for verification that you would appreciate that this information be kept confidential. You are protected by privacy laws on the job and the person signing that form for you has signed an employee confidentiality agreement whereby they cannot divulge information about the company or any of its employees to anyone inside or outside the company.

All sorts of employee information passes through payroll and HR and you never hear about it. There are wage orders for BK, judgments and child support and all sorts of verifications are done. I would not worry about it.

[mccaverty]

Good points - thanks for the perspective! Now for the walk of shame... ;)

[hamburgervol]

Does everyone that files Chapter 7 have to have a Statement of Wages form signed by their employers?

[mccaverty]

I would imagine so - unless they weren't employed a certain amount of time prior to filing.

[dingdong]

I didn't. I provided my pay stubs though. Never had to have anything at all signed by my employer.

[OhioFiler]

There was a time in my career when I managed the payroll department for a medium sized company. We were held to the highest standard for confidentiality. I also worked with the HR people quite a bit and they too understood the need for confidence. There were a couple people in HR who enjoyed gossip but generally limited it to those of us who had access to the information already.

If your employer fails to keep this type of information secure and confidential you have a great opportunity for relief from a civil court!

[mccaverty]

True, OhioFiler - I'll keep my fingers crossed, lol! :-)

I'm not sure why the need for the Wages Statement because I also had to provide six months of pay stubs, and did so before the 341 meeting...oh well!

[chad9162]

Does the Statement of Wages always have "bankruptcy" plaster all over it? Why do they even need to that?

[OhioFiler]

I've not heard of this form. Must be a local form. I thought paystubs sufficed as a true statement of wages. It most certainly is not an official federal form.

[mccaverty]

You would think it would suffice, and as it happened I filed two days before the end of a pay period so the amount on the Statement of Wages (my hypothetical last paycheck) will be virtually the same as on every one of the pay stubs. Just another hoop to jump through, I guess.

[pookieny]

You would be surprised to find out how many other employees in your company that have filed too. It happens to the best of us.