Georgia Employment Legal Questions

It is illegal to hire somebody and have them work for you and then fail to pay them for their work. If the customer contracted directly with you to do construction, you can file a mechanics lien on their property and sue them in superior court. . If the customer hired your employer to do the work, and you are an employee, and the employer failed to pay you you can recover your wages in small claims court (a/k/a "magistrate court"). If your employer does at leat $500,000 of business last year you are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Under that law you can recover twice the amount that he should have paid you, plus you can recover all of your attorneys fees and court costs.  Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154... Read Answer

Isaac, If your employer is large enough to be covered by the wage-hour laws (most are), and if it is not paying you for all the time you worked, he is violating the wage hour laws. Also, if you are working more than 40 hours in a 7 day work week, the employer owes you 150% of your hourly rate for each hour or part of hour that you worked above the 40 hour maximum.  In either event you can sue the employer in federal court and you can recover the amount of money that he should have paid you (but didn't) plus an amount equal to that first amount. The additional amount is a penalty called "liquidated damages." What you have described that your employer did above appears to be clear violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  If the employer has been doing the same thing in terms of failing to pay you all of your wages, or failing to pay you overtime for a long time, you can recover damages for all unpaid wages and overtime that you should have received, going back as far as 3 years.  Our firm (and many others) accept such cases on a contingent fee basis meaning that we collect our fees from the employer at the end of the case.  I hope this information is helpful to you. Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154              ... Read Answer

If your employer employs at least 15 employees, and if you can prove that you were selected for layoff because of your pregnancy, you may have a right to recover damages, back pay and reinstatement to your position. The question is whether the evidence is sufficient to prove that  your pregnancy was the cause of their decision to select you for layoff. You didn't say how many employees your employer had. If the employer has at least 50 employees working for at least 20 weeks in the current or the  immediately prior year, the employer is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act.  If your employer terminated you rather than allowing you to take FMLA leave, you can recover damages for back pay and reinstatement under that law.  Once again you must have sufficient evidence to establish that there is a causal link between your need for medical leave and their decision to lay you off.  In any event, before you sign any agreement with your employer in which you waive your rights to make legal claims against the company, you most definitely should consult with an employment and labor law specialist. If we can help you please call. Best of luck Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154.... Read Answer

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which is the federal law governing discrimination in the workplace, prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, national origin and race. Under the EEOC regulations relating to Title VII, an employer cannot impose an absolute prohibition against speaking a foreign language in the workplace. The employer can have a rule requiring the speaking of only English at certain times where the employer can show that the rule is justified by business necessity. Here is a link to that EEOC regulation: http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1606.7 The state in which you work may also have a state law which affords the same, or greater protection.... Read Answer

You had a choice if I want to keep my job, I had to sign it. You could have walked away, and not signed the contract. You should have the contract reviewed by an attorney in your state to advise you of the legality of this contract. It can only be determined by reading the contract. No one can give you a valid answer without doing that.... Read Answer

I know a lot about unemployment, but I do not know the answer to this question. There is likely a US Dept of Labor reg that governs. If not, your separation from the Navy could be like any other separation. If you were separated because you were no longer needed, then you should be treated as a lay off due to lack of work, and be entitled to benefits. If you quit a job that you could have continued doing, you likely are not entitled to benefits. I suggest you go file your claim and see what happens. Surely this has come up many times, but not one of my 11,000+ hearings involved this issue.... Read Answer

You have not asked a question that can be based on the law. You have asked for practical advice, which I am not equipped to answer. However, you were fired from your job, apparently for refusing a reasonable instruction of your employer. I do not know how to say that nicely. However, honesty is the best policy in such matters. Perhaps if you mix the truth with some expression of remorse or regret, you will get another chance.... Read Answer

It appears that your job is seasonal in nature.  Unless you worked for your employer for at least 12 months., and in the 12 months preceeding your accident you worked at least 1250 hours for your employer, and unless your employer employs at least 50 people within a 75 mile radius of where you worked, your employer can terminate you.  Unless all the conditions recited in the preceeding sentence apply to you , the Family and Medical Leave Act does not apply to you because you are not an eligible employee, and/or your employer is not a covered employer.   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3150... Read Answer

You should speak with an attorney that handles such matters. I do not. I would think the important part is that they are apparently admitting they took the money and failed to sign you up. I suspect the employer could be liable to you for any benefits you would have received, but I do not know, and you should not rely on my suspicions. I think you have a good enough cast that an attorney would listen to you. I suggest you start with one of those that advertise regularly on TV. I urge you to follow up on this problem with an attorney that knows this area of the law.... Read Answer

You are ruining your life, and you are not learning in the sense that you are repeating the same foolishness. The first thing that you should do is engage an attorney and see whether or not it is possible to keep this off of your record been therefore preserve your dreams. With the second offense, it is going to be much more difficult.... Read Answer