No matter how much they might be angry about it, they're not going to withhold money they legally owe to the employee. And besides, the check has already been p

No matter how much they might be angry about it, they're not going to withhold money they legally owe to the employee. And besides, the check has already been printed at that point, and may have already been in the employee's hands, since many places legally require any back pay or unused vacation to be paid out on the final day and no later. Employers who try to screw with that typically only do so because they don't have lawyers or HR departments, and quickly learn why those are useful things for an employer to have.