Even if there was severe employee misconduct, in most US states it wouldn't be legally possible to claw back wages that had already been paid to a W-2 employee unless there was a specific contract in place allowing the employer to do so. A few executives have such contracts with clawback provisions (mainly in financial services) but they really aren't a thing for regular employees. If the employee had actually stolen money through fraud or embezzlement then the employer could file a civil suit to recover damages, but wages are a separate issue entirely.