Former Employer Told Me They “don’t Have A Final Paycheck” For Me Due To An “annualization Schedule” But I Am An Hourly Employee. They Refuse To Pay Me For My Last Two Weeks Of Work?

I worked for a school district in Upstate NY and resigned from my position on 11/15/24. I am not a teacher for the district so I worked 12 months out of the year, and did not receive holiday breaks like the teachers or anything of the sort, just the normal paid holidays. The school year for 13 month employees like myself is July 1-June 30th of the following year. So I worked the entire calendar year, with my annualized paychecks starting the first week of July. I worked 40 hours every week so my paycheck every two weeks was for 80 hours. My hourly wage of course adds up to the annualized schedule so all school year, I’ve been receiving the correct paychecks on time.

The problem is, I’m still an hourly employee according to my union contract, and I was required to still fill out a time sheet and have it signed by my boss bi-weekly. (Pay periods are bi-weekly.)

11/15 was a payday and I received my normal pay for a two week period. The next pay period was for the dates between 11/4/24-11/15/24. I worked those two weeks minus two sick days, and on my final day, I left work sick 2 hours early. My final check should have been either direct deposited into my account or mailed to me on the next payday, 11/29/24. I waited a few days but it did not arrive in the mail, so I reached out to payroll where they told me in an email:

“You didn't have pay coming as you were overpaid as of the last payroll on 11/15. (** the overpayment was $140 at the beginning of the fiscal year, which was their mistake that they didn’t point out until I submitted my resignation and are requesting me to pay back**)This is because you were annualized and rather than being paid to date as an hourly employee would be, you were paid your yearly entitlement divided by each 26 payrolls. So as of 11/15 you were paid for more time than what you had actually worked.”

The last paycheck I received was on 11/15/24. How does the rationale from the above email apply to the weeks of 11/4-11/15 where I still worked all those hours? I have gotten the correct paychecks for my normal 80 hours worked bi-weekly since the fiscal year started in July, so why would I not be entitled to the paycheck of the last two weeks I physically worked if my CONTRACT says I am an hourly employee? The annualization schedule should coincide with my last two weeks because it was all part of a normal schedule that I worked.

I believe this is a form of retaliation against me and there is nobody else at the school I can contact to get better answers. I’m looking to see if I have a case worth pursuing with a lawyer, or at the very least with the state. Any advice or questions are welcome. Thanks in advance!