Georgia Employment Legal Questions

You should talk to a tax advisor. I see no reason for him to file his taxes again, except perhaps if income was claimed in the wrong state. Ask the tax advisor about that. also banned him from unemployment That sounds like a fraud penalty, unrelated to any mistake by DOL. It would be based on a fraudulent act committed by your son. This leads me to believe you may not know all the facts, and are dealing with half information. Repayment of an overpayment is a separate issue, which does not involve amending a tax return. He is required to report the unemployment in the year he received the payment, and pay taxes accordingly, in that year. Then, in the year he repays, he may offset his other income with the repayment. Look closely at the IRS tax form 1040, and you will see how this part works. You should also talk to a tax advisor about this.... Read More

First make a demand from your former employer to be paid on the next payroll date and ask if you can pick up your paycheck on a specific date. If that does not work, file a wage claim, i.e. Labor Standard Complaint, with the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division (ERD). Attached are the form and informational documents related to file your wage claim. If the ERD is unable to help you get your final paycheck, contact an attorney.... Read More

Sue them for slander. But you will have to prove actual damages, and the courts do not favor slander suits. The verdicts are usually nominal. Perhaps you could express your concerns to your company's Human Resources officer and ask that they intervene. You could also go to the person and politely discuss this with them.... Read More

Your question does not disclose the state where you worked. The answer varies from state to state. Some states have specific laws concerning pay checks, other states rely on general contract law. Without knowing your state, I can not give you an answer. Please resubmit your request and disclose the name of the state involved. Or, you may contact Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor http://www.wagehour.dol.gov/ They have investigators that handle such questions, and pursue some claims on your behalf.... Read More

Yes, you may sue. But, will you win? This varies from state to state. Since you did not include the state where you worked, I can not give you an answer. Feel free to re-submit your request, and include what state. You should not rely on the below, since it is a statement of general law, which may not apply to you. In most states, bonuses are not governed by any law, other than contract law. If you do not have a contract, which governs bonuses, you likely have no remedy. Many employers do not pay bonuses to severed employees. Many do not even pay accrued vacation to severed employees. It is often governed by company policy, which is often unwritten. Most handbooks contain a preface that states that the handbook is not a contract, and may be altered at any time by the company, in their sole discretion. Good question, but unfortunately, I may not offer you any encouragement.... Read More

Your statement "allowed it to dismiss without looking at the mountain of evidence " tells me you do not understand the complexity of such a law suit. You need an attorney. $56,00 is a lot to be risked , when you do not know how to drive the boat. Go see an attorney. They have an attorney, you will never win without one also.... Read More

The answer depends on whether you need the job more than you do a severance check, and how quickly you think you can find a new job paying the same amount or more. If you are not sure. it is far better to remain employed, even at less money, while you are looking for a new job. Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154  ... Read More

Assuming the employer is not a government, and that the employer owns the server on which the email is stored, and furnishes the email connection, then it belongs to the employer.  He can go into it since it is his "property." I can't understand why you can't get your bank accounts credit card iformation and tax returns. What have they to do with you emai?   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154... Read More

Since the employee received a pay advance in the amount of $3000, and pays it off at $25 per week, that means that the employer only is being paid $1200 per year. At that rate it will take 2.5 years to pay the advance off, not counting interest charged, if any.  The employer can deduct the balance of what was advanced less what was paid from the final paycheck since the employee actually has already been paid for the time in advance.   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154  ... Read More

You may sue, but you will loose. In Georgia, an employer may discharge you for any reason, including a bad reason or a mistake, and you have no recourse. The sole exceptions are the EEOC grounds: Race, sex, national origin, religion, age, handicap. I find noting in your narrative that appears to be an EEOC exception, so you have no rights in Georgia.... Read More

I know of nothing illegal that your employer has done to you. Your sole remedy is to file an unemployment claim. In GA, you may be discharged for any reason, including a bad or wrong reason, so long as they do not violate your EEOC rights, which are limited to: Rave, Age, Sex, national origin, handicap, religion. If it is not on that list, it is not protected. Hanging up on a boss is not a right in GA. There are consequences, which just may include denying you unemployment benefits. You basically have no rights.... Read More

The Georgia Department of Labor enforces only the workers compensation and unemployment compensation laws of Georgia. It does not enforce the federal minimum wage laws, and its employees have little expertise in the finer areas of wage-hour laws, which are enforced by the federal department of labor.   If your employer is covered by the minimum wage laws (most are), and if what you wear is actually a uniform within the meaning of the wage hour laws and regulations, the employer cannot take back any portion of your tips to pay for the acquisition or maintenance and cleaning of the uniforms. Doing so violates the "tipped employee " regulations of the US Department of Labor.     If your employer is making the deductions, it owes you the difference between your hourly pay rate and the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for every hour that you worked. There is a statute of limitations of 2 or 3 years (depending on whether the employer's violation is considered "willful" -- and most are).  If you sue your employer you can recover twice the amount that the employer owes you (i.e.,the difference between the wage he paid you and $7.25 per hour).  He will also be required to pay your attorneys fees.  The employer legally is prohibited from retaliating against you for suing him because of his violation of the federal minimum wage laws.  That increases the employer's damages quite significantly.   Wage-Hour cases are the only ones that I routinely accept on a contingent fee basis. This means we don't charge you if we don't win.  If you would like to speak with me about this please call me next weeks. Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154 (Direct)                ... Read More

You obviously have been doing a lot of research on this issue.  Confuising "salaried" status with "exempt" status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is one of the most common errors that we encounter when working on behalf of our clients every day. One question that would first need to be answered is whether your employer is covered by the FLSA. Some are and some are not (for example, interstate trucking companuies covered by the DOT regulations are not covered by the FLSA.) You have described the attruibutes of your job responsibilities and the payment basis, and (assuming your employer is covered by the FLSA) yes, it does aoppear from what you say here that you should be paid overtime when you work more than 40 hours in a 7 day pay period. There is more to this that I would have to know before giving you final advice on the issues in your case. However, if you are misclassified, and we can prove both that and the fact that you worked but were not properly compensated for overtime, you may recover 2 times the amount of unpaid overtime that you worked in the three years prior to the date the suit s filed, plus interest on the unpaid amount pluys all of your attorneys fees and costs for brining the suit.  You will need to file a wage hour or FLSA complaint in court to get all of this. One question that we would have is whether you have proof of the hours that you actually worked. Do you have pay stubs that show the actual number of hours? What was your empooyer?Did your employer maintain a time clock? Were there any sign in sheets? The plaintiff (in this case you) bears the burden of proving the number of hours he worked in each pay period. However, the company   Wage-hour case sare the only types of employment aw cases that our firm accepts on a contingency basis. We would be hapopy to help you.   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154... Read More

To defeat your claim for unemployment benefits the employer must prove that you engaged in "wilfull misconduct" by violating employer rules or policies about which the employer had inofrmed you, or which you otherwise would be expected to know about (e.g., don't steal from the employer, employees, or patients, don't  lie about something the employer has a right to know, don't commit an act of violence against any person or property. You will have the opportunity to appeal any adverse decision and to see and hear the employer's evidence ans present your own rebuttal in an unemployment appeal hearing. However, you may have an even better remedy (although not as immediate) if your employer is committing medicare fraud: he may be liable to the Federal Government under the False Claims Act, and as the informant (a/k/a "relator" under the Act) there are cases where you can collect significant portions of any government recoveries under the that law. While I don't handle such cases, Michael Sullivan at Finch McCranie in Atlanta handles such cases and is excellent and highly ethical. You should contact Michael directly  (404-658-9070) (msullivan@finchmccranie.com). You may tell him that I recommended him. Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154... Read More