Virginia Employment Contracts Legal Questions

If by suing for your equal rights, you mean being entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, then yes, it sounds like you have a very good case for proving that you were actually an employee being treated as an independent contractor.  This would be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  We would need more facts to be sure.  Were you in fact working more than 40 hours per week and not getting paid 1.5 times your hourly rate?  If so, you may be able to make a claim for the unpaid overtime wages.  However, you can only go back two years, not necessarily to your start date if that was earlier. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.  ... Read More

I’m not totally clear on who is withholding pay from you (the new employer or the company you contracted with).  However, whether it’s wages or “1099” payments for independent contractor work, you have a legal right to the pay you’ve earned.  For wages, the right comes from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, various Virginia statutes, and court decisions.  For contract payments, the right comes from the Virginia common law of contracts.  Please call us to schedule a consultation so that we can review the contract at issue and get more detail.... Read More

In Virginia, employers only have to provide lunch breaks to employees aged 14 or 15, and only when the employee works five or more hours.  If you are 16 or older, your company does not have to give you any breaks.If you’re working more than 40 hours in a given week, you may be entitled to time and a half for those excess hours.  There may be other issues with your workplace as well.  Give us a call to schedule a consultation, and we can see what your options are.Lee B. Warren(571) 732-3697Cook Craig & Francuzenko, PLLC3050 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 200Fairfax, VA 22030... Read More

If you’ve already been fired or resigned, a severance agreement is a matter of pure contract between you and the employer.  You’re under no obligation to sign it, and they’re under no obligation to give you anything that the law doesn’t already require.  Likewise, they can withdraw the offer at any time for any reason or no reason.That said, if your former employer is pressuring you to sign a severance agreement, they may be worried that you have potential claims against them—whether for unpaid wages, discrimination, disability, or some other violation. Typically, a severance agreement will mean that you give up all of your rights to sue the company for any violations of the law.We can help you figure out whether your employer violated the law in the way they treated you, but it’s hard to give you the odds without further information.  Please call us to schedule a consultation.... Read More

Virginia is an “employment at will” state, which means you can be fired at any time for any non-illegal reason.  If you have an employment contract—one that specifies how long you will work and how much you will be paid—the terms of the contract control the reasons you can be fired.  If your husband’s contract said the corporation could terminate the contract at any time, for any reason, with 30 days’ notice, he has two potential approaches.  First, he is arguably entitled to 30 days’ pay, unless the agreement says otherwise for some reason.  Many such agreements have “cause” provisions in them that allow the employer to fire the employee immediately and without pay for certain misconduct.  Second, if the corporation terminated the contract for an illegal reason, he may have a discrimination claim.  Those reasons are, generally, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age (over 40), disability, refusal to break the law, or complaining about discrimination for any of those reasons.  Finally, if he were being fired for reporting violations of health regulations, or for refusing to falsify records, he might have a "Bowman" claim for wrongful termination (named for the Virginia Supreme Court case that recognized the claim).... Read More

Generally, you’re entitled to benefits unless you’re fired for misconduct. Misconduct basically means you violated a company rule that you knew about.  Cases like yours can turn on whether you knew about the new policy.  If you got the original handbook but not the new one, and the new policy was only in the new handbook, AND nobody told you orally about the new policy, then you should get benefits.  On the other hand, if it’s in the new handbook, and you got a copy of the new handbook, but you didn’t see the new rule, you’ll probably be denied benefits.An attorney representing you before the VEC isn’t allowed to take money up front and can’t bill you unless you win (including all appeals by you or the employer).  Once you’ve won and the appeals deadline has passed, the attorney can submit a fee petition to the VEC.  I handle these types of cases and would be happy to talk to you about your particular facts.Please note that you only have 30 days from the date of mailing in which to appeal.  There should be a date on the back of the decision form that gives you the deadline.... Read More

As an employee in Virginia, unless you have an employment contract, you are “at will,” which means you can quit, or be fired, at any time for any reason or no reason.  The only exception is that the employer can’t fire you for an illegal reason.  The main ones are race, gender, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and complaints about violations of the law.  But a company isn’t required to supervise you or give you orientation about jack policies.  “Any reason or no reason” really does mean what it says.  I like to say that in Virginia, you can be hired to do data entry, and the company can refuse to give you a computer or any data to enter, then fire you without warning for not doing your job. It’s a different situation if everyone is breaking the jack policies and only you got fired.  Then, we look at whether the company used the rule violation as an excuse to fire you when their real reason was, say, gender discrimination.  If you’re a woman and the employees who broke the rules but didn’t get fired are all men, that can suggest a discriminatory reason for firing you. Also, the question is different when you’re applying for unemployment benefits.  The company will have to show that you knew about the policy (or should have known about it) and still broke the rules.  Otherwise, you should be entitled to benefits. ... Read More

You should speak with a local employment law attorney to determine if you have a right to sue your previous employer for various employment related matters, because these issues are very fact specific. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies..... Read More