Employment Legal Questions

Dear Ms. Blackshear 1. You can get your unemployment if you were involuntarily terminated through no fault of your own. If you were in fact "laid off," you are involuntarily terminated through no fault of your own. If you have not received any discipline, warnings, etc, and if you have not disobeyed any rule or direct order or done (or failed to do) any thing warranting your termination, you will receive the unemployment benefits. They can contest the benefits saying that you were fired for willful disregard of your employer's directions, rules, or standares. But they would have the burden of proving that willful disregard. To prove it they would have to show (a) that they had a rule, policy or standard; (b) that you knew about the rule, policy or standard; and (c) that you intentionally or knowingly disregarded the rule, policy or standard. 2. Assuming that your employer is covered by the FLSA (also known as the "wage hour laws") (most, but not all-are covered), and assuming you are not exempt from coverage under the FLSA, their failure to pay you for all the time you have worked would be a violation of the law. If you have been working hours for which the Company has not paid you - and they knew you worked those hours, they may be liable to you for backpay and liquidated damages (My firm handles a lot of these cases.) You can win double the amount of unpaid wages -and they have to pay your attorneys fees. And they have to pay your attorneys fees. An employer cannot require an employee to waive their fights under the FLSA.. The agreement itself would be invalid. However, depending on the language in the "waiver" they might have you admitting that you have informed them of all the time that you worked, and that they have paid you in full for all the hours that you have worked including any overtime that may have accrued. If it says that, you may have a hard time winning a subsequent FLSA claim.  3.  To advise you further about whether you should sign the waiver of rights, I would need to see the waiver itself, and you would need to hire me to advise or represent you. Respectfully, Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154 ... Read More

Technically, you are not required to retain an attorney to represent you during an EEOC proceeding just as you do not need to retain an attorney to represent you in court.  However, it is always best to get expert advice on how to handle it and, at least, get a consultation with an experienced employment attorney.... Read More

Maybe. Your doctor needs to document precisely why the travel will adversely affect your health. Remember that by doing so your doctor could document that you are no longer able to perform the essential functions of your job. Technically disabled. Be careful. Better option is to accept the transfer and look for another job ASAP. I know that's tough. It's NYC. No one has time. But it's better to be employed while looking for work even though the City law says that unemployment cant be used against you in a job search. Good luck. Yours will be a tough one and hiring a lawyer for that is likely to cost a lot (not a contingent fee case since there does not appear to be money other than hopefully continued employment at the end) with no guarantees.... Read More

Discrimination generally occurs when one protected group is treated less favorably than another similarly situated group. Protections from discrimination range from age, disability, race, sex, and so on. Your question raises equal pay issues, but it's not clear if there's a disparity in pay because one protected group is being treated better or worse than another. The question also suggests all supervisors are being paid the same, so the likelihood of discrimination, or having case, is unlikely.... Read More

Who owns the housing? If it's public housing contact the housing authority. Is the financial power of attorney also the health care proxy? If the Surrogate Court has been involved you can contact the clerk of that court to try to get the Surrogate Judge to help. Contact the New York City Commission on Human Rights. They deal with employment and housing issues. Sounds like possible habitation issues and constructive discharge of you related to the infestation. They might help or will know who can. Contact a housing rights lawyer.  File for unemployment benefits honestly. You quit but were forced to do so. Make sure you have all your evidence. You will probably need to request a hearing or appeal to a hearing officer timely. Good luck.... Read More

Your employer cannot withhold wages that you have earned unless you owe the employer money advanced to you that remains unpaid, or unless you had a contract that provides for such withholding. How much is owed to you and for what time period? When was your last paycheck supposed to be delivered to you if you had not terminated your employment? Do you have property belonging to the employer?   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3154... Read More

You should contact an Ohio wage and hour attorney regarding this issue. It is possible that this training time and the requirements of your employer may make this compensable time spent working. Our office regularly handles wage and hour cases for employees throughout Ohio with issues of unpaid wages and unpaid overtime. We would be happy to provide you with a free confidential consultation.   Ohio wage and hour lawyer https://mcoffmanlegal.com/wage-hour-attorney-columbus-ohio/... Read More

An employee who resigns must be paid the remainder of his or her wages on the next regularly scheduled pay-day.  An employee who is involuntarily terminated must be paid the remainder of his or her wages within 7 days of termination.  Complaints about an employer's failure to pay wages (including commissions and accrued and unused PTO, Sick Leave or Vacation if the employer has a writted policy about paying such items) can be addressed to the Texas Workforce Commision - Labor Law Department.  The controlling law is found at Chapter 61 of the Texas Labor Code. Good luck.    ... Read More

An employer cannot take any amounts out of your paycheck (except taxes and child support) without your written consent.  Further, even with your written consent, the deductions from each paycheck cannot result in your making less than minimum wage for the time period reflected in the paycheck.  You can file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department (known as a wage complaint or Texas PayDay Act complaint) if the employer makes unauthorized deductions from your paycheck in an attempt to force the repayment of the excess raise. You have 180 days from the date of any unlawfult deduction to file such a complaint. However, be aware that the PayDay Act has no anti-retaliation provisions in it.  So if you are still employed with the employer and you file such a complaint, there is no rule preventing the employer from firing you.  You may get your money back, but you may not have a job either.  Good luck.... Read More

Absent a contract, employees in Texas are employed "at-will", which means either the employer or the employee can end the relationship with or without cause and with or without notice.  However, an employer cannot fire an employee for an illegal reason, such as age, race, gender, religion, disablity, color, national origin, for using or to prevent use of an employee benefit plan, such as pension or retirement or refusing to commit a crime.  That said, the anti-discrimination laws (all of the above except the last 2) only apply to employers with 15 or more employees. If you have a good faith belief that the real reason you were fired, regardless of the stated reason, is your age (over 40), then you can file a complaint with the EEOC. There is an office in most of the major cities in Texas.  If you have a good faith belief that the reason you were fired was for using an employee benefit plan, contact the US Department of Labor.  Again - offices in most major Texas cities.  If you are going to contact one of the federal agencies, do so immediately.  There are very short deadlines to do so.  At some point, you will have to provide evidence of any unlawful motive.  You can't just make a bald allegation and expect that something positive will happen.  Good luck.    ... Read More

Has he complained about unpaid wages to the New York State Department of Labor? Driving with a suspended license means that he was working with unclean hands. Not literally. The common law doctrine of unclean hands says that equity will not be done for someone who was also in the wrong. However New York State takes unpaid wages very seriously. There is case law which states that even someone who performed services under false pretenses (for example pretending they were licensed when not) is entitled to recover the reasonable value of services performed. Your husband should recover the value of his labor. Bullying laws exist in the education system and not workplace. Unless your husband was harassed due to his belonging in a protected class (i.e. because of his age over 40 or because of his race or ethnicity, or some other class to which he belongs etc...) this is not harassment although it might be assault or battery (a separate tort action).... Read More

The short answer to your question is, "yes." A private sector employer may fire (or demote, or transfer, or reduce future wages) for any reason or no reason, even a mistaken or made up reason, as long as the real reason isn't race, sex, age, national origin, religion, color, disability.  The concept is known as at-will employment and it is the law in most of the states.... Read More

The Texas Payday Act (which is found at Chapter 61 of the Texas Labor Code) says that, except for taxes and court-ordered child support, an employer may not withhold any amount from a paycheck without the signed written consent of the employee.  You may contact the Texas Workforce Commission, Labor Law Department, and file a Payday Act Complaint to recover your money if you do so within 6 months of the date the amount was withheld.    ... Read More

It depends on what the employer's vacation pay policy says.  You should get it and read it carefully.  If it says you get your vacation pay, then you get it.  Most likely if it does not say you lose it, then you probably can get it.  If it says you forfeit it (or words to that effect), then you will lose it.... Read More

I would need to know a lot more about your status as a "contracted employee." If you are an employee, you may be covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA requires that you be paid for all the time you work plus 1.5 times your hourly rate for all time that you work in excess of 40 hours in a pay period. Many employers attempt to circumvent this law by calling the employee an "independent contractor." There are many technicalities about this law and its coverage, and I would need to know much more about your job and your employer to advise you more coherently. These are types of cases that our firm does frequently. When we succeed (which is most of the time) the employer has to pay our fees, not our clients. True independent contractors are not covered by thw FLSA and must depend on their contracts. If you are a genuine indpendent contractor and if your contract does not permit the employer to deduct an hour from your pay for lunch, then you would have a simple contract claim. If you would like to discuss this you may call me at (404)979-3154 Michael A. Caldwell... Read More

If you did not receive a 30 minute uninterrupted meal break, then your employer cannot take this time away from your pay. Our office regularly handles wage and hour litigation related to automatic meal period deductions. We represent employees throughout Ohio, provide free consultations, and work on a contingency fee. Give us a call.   Ohio wage and hour lawyer https://mcoffmanlegal.com/wage-hour-attorney-columbus-ohio/... Read More