What should I do if a former employee leaves behind personal items?

There is no specific labor law addressing an employer’s obligation to retain or deliver personal property left behind by a former employee.

You may choose to contact the former employee to arrange for them to pick it up, or you could return the property by mail or other delivery service if you know their current physical address.

When a former employee cannot be located, the employer must determine how long to keep the property that was left behind.

An employer should make every reasonable effort to contact the former employee to arrange for return of the property and document those efforts. Some suggestions include:

• Attempting to reach the former employee by mail, phone, email and/or text;
• Calling anyone the former employee may have listed as an emergency contact, and asking them if they know how to reach the employee or are willing to ask the former employee to contact you about the personal property; or
• Asking current employees who may have become friendly with the individual if they know how to contact them.

If these efforts fail, after a reasonable period, the employer may determine that the property has been abandoned and dispose of or donate it.

Note: Unlike personal property, unclaimed wages must be turned over to the local office of the California Labor Commissioner after reasonable attempts have been made to contact the employee.

For more information, read Final Pay Explained in the HR Library.