Employee Benefits Legal Questions

Your employer has almost certainly broken multiple laws. If money for Social Security, FICA or State income tax is withheld on the printed paycheck, that same amount of money had better be remitted to the respective government. Failure to do so is embezzlement and possibly a felony. It sounds like the employer is at or near bankruptcy. Not sure if the employees can manage the company but you should offer to buy it from him for a dollar because that dude is toast.... Read More

The answer to your question depends on the terms and conditions of your boyfriend's commission agreement with his employer.  Ordinarily, if a commissioned employee has done everything required to earn a commission according to the terms of his agreement, an employer cannot arbitrarily withhold payment.  But it is possible given the nature of his position that he does not earn a commission on service until a customer has picked up his vehicle under the terms and conditions of his agreement.  I can see where an employer in that industry would want a service advisor to be physically present to answer a customer's questions and explain what service was done, and what service was offered but rejected, when the customer shows up to pick up his vehicle.  But it all depends on the language of the agreement.... Read More

If your absence was covered by FMLA your employer is required to hold your job for 12 weeks and that includes keeping your health insurance. If you were not able to go back to your job by the end of the 12 weeks then the employer is entitled to be reimbursed for the health insurance premiums they paid while you were on leave. If you were able to go back, then they are not entitled to that reimbursement. If you did in fact return to work but they terminated you for another reason, then you might be entitled to your paycheck. You should consider contacting the state labor cabinet and raise that as a wage an hour issue if you believe your check was wrongfully withheld. ... Read More

A girlfriend in the state of Texas does not have any legal right to occupy a home that is owned by another party unless the parties have entered a lease agreement. A person living in the property who is not on the deed or not a party to a lease is considered a month to month tenant. Accordingly, you can commence legal eviction proceedings in court after giving her the required notice to vacate. Once that process is completed, a court will order that she must vacate the property. Thereafter, you can file a paternity action to establish your parental rights, and then request either joint custody, full custody or visitation rights. Your girlfriend will most likely counter sue you for child support.... Read More

If the short term disability plan was provided by your employer, it is covered by a federal law called ERISA (The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974).  Because it is covered by ERISA, a law firm that represents individuals nationally can help you with your appeal. You should retain an attorney to organize and write your appeal.  If you decide to do it on your own, here is some information to help you do it.  https://www.maddoxfirm.com/post/long-term-disability-appeal-letter Give us a call if you'd like further information about how we can help you. (212) 970-1190 www.maddoxfirm.com    ... Read More

Your question is highly dependent upon the precise langauge contained for your Benefit Plan. Because your plan is likely ERISA Self-Funded, the law is essentially that the terms of the Plan control how benefits will be allocated.These Plans have mandatory disclosure documents called Summary Plan Descriptions that will contain all terms relevant to Benefit administration. Our firm is happy to review these documents with you and advise as to any potential implications from your goal of seeking non-union work without compromising your benefits.... Read More

Garnishment is by definition a judicial proceeding. That means that a court order would need to be pursued and entered or recorded by some clerk of court. Apparently you have cut and pasted a part of an agreement with your former employer. The language appears to mean business. In other words it looks like no nonsense terms. It would not be unusual to find prevailing party's attorneys' fees and costs awardable as well since you apparently agreed to this remedy. As a side note, if prevailing party attorneys' fees and costs are available you might owe several times the amount you fear being garnished plus interest and possibly other remedies. The wisest option might be to have a skilled employment lawyer review all documents which governed your prior employment relationship. Most of these matters are resolved pre-litigation since employees sometimes lose their former and current jobs if they failed to disclose everything they were obligated to disclose to secure a new position. The worst case scenario might be losing the former job, being let go from your current position, and owing several times the amount you suspect you may have to repay. And if you did not report that money on your tax return, there may be IRS or state or local tax penalties for not doing so as well. Speak with a tax lawyer. Calling a payment "not wages or earned compensation" does not mean that you are not subject to reporting the amount on your taxes or paying taxes on it yourself. Were I facing this scenario I would lawyer up immediately because waiting longer is very likely to cost much more than resolving it pre-litigation. Just a suggestion from New York's Employment Law Reality Check law firm.... Read More

Any qualified physician may treat mental health issues. All M.D.s are authorized to prescribe medication including for mental health issues although most will defer to specialists. I am without knowledge of any law or regulation which prohibits your OB practitioner from opining about mental health issues. Although, I suspect that if the employer retained a mental health expert your OB would probably defer to your own mental health expert as well. You should meet with your employer. They have the right to counsel and/or direct you regarding your duties for work. Regardless of what they have done in the past, if you wish to keep this job you may want to consider meeting with them. If for no other reason than to ask them what else they need from you. They could suggest your consulting with an independent medical expert at the employer's expense. If they did so you may wish to prepare your own mental health provider with advance notice of same. This is not legal advice. We have no lawyer client relationship. But if you have been performing your duties well remotely, there appears to be no reason that you will not continue doing so in the future. Some employers feel or presume that some pregnant employees may not return to work after giving birth. Meeting with them may aleviate their concerns. Caring for a newborn is time-consuming and they may suspect that you will no longer devote the hours which most professionals have given during COVID working remotely. They may want assurance from you that you will continue doing the presumably great work you have done so far. I personally know several employees who are much more productive working remotely, partly because their mental health challenges were overwhelming in-person, pre-COVID, when they needed to work in a confined office. If your mental health expert believes that applies to you maybe discussing this now is a good option. If this employer intends to bring everyone back into the office, maybe that's not for you? But you need to assure them why that's necessary for you and how the employer will continue to receive outstanding or acceptable performance from you. If they believe your performance was not what they expected pre-pregnancy maybe this is the time to discuss accommodations which may have nothing or little to do with pregnancy. Good luck. Not legal advice. No lawyer client relationship. Accommodations are all about communication and give and take between employer and employee.... Read More

More facts are required before any lawyer could provide you with a definitive answer.   If you Google the internet for your question there are quite a number of posts which are inaccurate or wrong.   See this attachment:   https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/01/osh-te-2022-2023-rfp-clean-01.31.22-1_0.pdf   I believe your answer may be found on page 5.   The caution here is that if you deny an employee wages to "suffer labor", meaning for your benefit, you do so at your own risk. If, on the other hand, the training is broadly applicable, maybe, depending on the position, a CPR certificate, it might be for the employee's benefit which benefits you as well. Whoever provides you with an opinion, on this issue, which this certainly is not, should charge you because providing the incorrect one could cost you dearly. Good luck. Not legal advice.... Read More

Paula: The answer is that you can get fired after FMLA expires.  Most employers terminate employees at the end of FMLA unless you have a contract that states otherwise.  It is normal for most people to be terminated while receiving either short or long term disability.  You need to be careful as there are some companies in which STD will terminate if you are not employed by the company. Many STD policies are self funded and the rules for termination of benefits vary.  ... Read More

It sounds very likely that you have been misclassified as an independent contractor. As you may have heard, California has enacted legislation recently to codify the "ABC Test" - a simplified test for determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor. Most gig economy companies under the ABC test fail in that regard. And certainly a determination of employee status would help here. In addition, it could be argued that Handy is breaching its contract with you, or breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, by changing your pay structure for jobs completed or which will be completed. These causes of action do not require you to demonstrate that you were misclassified at all.  All that being said, your question raises a number of issues which would be best served by a conversation with a licensed attorney. ... Read More

You definitely should retain a civil lawyer to review your severance package. Usually a consult fee will be requested to be able to sit down and gather information and provide legal advice.  Usually a severance package requires you to agree to give up any legal rights in exchange for the severance so getting legal counsel first is important.    Michelle Holmes  203-596-1091... Read More