Employment Legal Questions

First, if this happens again in the future, don't wait so long to do something about it.  Within 180 days of a missed paycheck, you could have filed a wage complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission, which would have pursued this matter for you for free.  You are too late to take that route now, but you still have options. You will now have to file a lawsuit for your employer's breach of the contract in which he/she/it agreed to pay you for your labor.  There doesn't have to be a written contract (great if there is).  The law implies a contract.  You performed your part of the agreement - you worked.  The employer failed to pay its part of the agreement - to pay you.  The reimbursement part is the same theory, just a little trickier.  You are going to have to show that the expenidtures you made were authorized by the employer.  That can be done by showing a specific authorization (some kind of writing, e-mail, text) or by showing that you have incurred similar expenditures in the past, which the employer did reimburse. Probably the easiest place to file your case is your local small claims (Justice of the Peace) court.  To be exact, the JP court that covers the area where your employer's office is located or, if that is a long way from you, the JP court over the area where you performed the work. JP Courts have forms to fill out and they do not require that you be knowlegeable about the law.  See  https://www.traviscountytx.gov/justices-of-peace/jp1/filing-suit for more information.  However, be aware that a JP Court can only hear a case where the maximum damages are $10,000.00.  So you won't be able to collect more than that, except you can collect your filing and service fees on top of the money you are owed. Your other option is to go to a County Court at Law or District Court, either in the Employer's county or in the County were you performed the work.  These courts won't be limited to $10k.   However, I don't recommend you try this without a lawyer, who will charge you for the representation.  In a breach of contract case, you can recover your attorneys fees in addition to the unpaid wages.  If you choose not to go the JP court route and want to hire a lawyer and if you are in or near one of the big counties (Tarrant, Dallas, Bexar, Travis, Harris, El Paso) and possibly some of the medium sized counties (Taylor, Smith, Collin, Lubbock, Potter, Bowie etc.) you may find that the local bar association has a "lawyer referral service".  If they do, you might be able to find an attorney though one of them who will do an initial consultation for $20-$50.  That won't be for the whole case, but for that small fee you can find out about your rights and your chances of winning and the cost of further representation. Good luck.... Read More

It all depends on whether you are hourly or salary and also what your job duties are as to whether you are exempt from receiving overtime pay. If you are hourly and/or non-exempt, then you should be compensated for your time spent working at home - meaning the time when you are receiving phone calls and voicemails and responding to them. In addition, if you are having to drive to the office and complete work there, then you should be compensated for this time as well. You should also be getting paid for work on your days off. Our office represents employees throughout the state of Ohio, we offer free consultations and work on contingency fees. Feel free to call my office directly and we can gather more information and help you with this issue.    Ohio wage and hour lawyer https://mcoffmanlegal.com/overtime-lawyer-columbus-ohio/... Read More

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be terminated for good, bad or, as in your case, no reason at all. There would be a legal claim only if there was an unlawful motive behind the termination. In this case, the only possibility I see is the at work injury. If you were terminated because of filing for or requesting workers comp benefits, then you may have a legal claim.... Read More

I would need to read the employment contract that you signed to give you any competent advice on any contractual restrictions to your resignation. The actual words make the difference. Also, if they breached the contract by not giving you pay increases (again, it matters what the contract actually says) they cannot successfully sue you to enforce the contract that they broke first. However, without a contract you are employed at will, you can be terminated at will; and you can quit at will. They must pay you in full for any time that you actually worked, regardless of their file close out requirements. You really should get a lawyer to help you with this one. You can reacme at (404)979-3154. Michael A. Caldwell... Read More

The ADA is an interactive process. You request they say yes or no or alternative and you go back and forth. If you do this and there is no reasonable accommodation where you can perform without an undue hardship to your employer you may at least have a workers compensation claim, possibly.... Read More

This is a very tough situation and legally complex. If someone who is not a manager is calling you that, then the only likely claim is that you are being subjected to non-sexual, sex-based harassment.  It is made more complex if these men are subordinates and not peers. However, such a claim is possible.  You shoudl consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible. Attorneys on here are prohibited from soliciting you, but you can reach out to the attorneys.... Read More

Sounds like you were given a second chance which the employer did not have to do. If the owner or manager called their insurance company or anyone else for advice they were probably cautioned to get rid of potential liability. Physical contact at work is illegal and can be gross misconduct. File for unemployment benefits and go to a hearing, if denied, for further explanation of how bad that is.... Read More

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason.  According to the North Carolina Supreme Court you can be terminated for a good reason, bad reason or no reason at all.  This sounds unfair (a bad reason), but not unlawful.... Read More

The employer likely will claim that you are an independent contractor who is not covered by Georgia WrokersComp. statutes. You are not. Your work is an inherent part of the employer's services - not external to it. Your investment in the job is miniscule compared to the employer's. You are subject to the employer's control and supervision. You are not in a job classification that usually is performed by independent contractors such as lawyers, doctors, etc. Your employer is required to carry workers comp insurance to cover you. If it fails to do so it becomes the insurer. You are entitled to all of your medical expenses and a replacement of a part of your wages since your injury. Our firm does not handle workers comp. cases. If you are in Atlanta or North Georgia the best workers' comp plaintiff's attorney is J. Franklin Burns ( (404) 303-7770) in Atlanta. If you are in Perry or South of it, the best is John Christy ((478) 987-9000) in Perry.  Please give them a call and tell them that I recommended that you contact them.   Michael A. Caldwell 404-979-3150... Read More

Have you applied for unemployment benefits? New York State is very lenient regarding the award of such benefits as long as claimants are candid and truthful when they apply and during administrative hearings. You should retain legal counsel to make sure you recover unemployment benefits. Witnesses will testify and an administrative law judge will determine the credibility or trustworthiness of each witness. They are generally very good at doing that. They must believe you and you need to disprove, usually by vigorous cross examination, that the other side is not telling the truth. That's why, in your case, retaining legal counsel should help. If they determine that job loss was your fault, after that process, that would be bad. What documents (employee handbooks, emails of past practices, etc...) do you have which state that you are entitled to vacation pay? Everyone is entitled to be paid for all the hours they work, including overtime. If you have not been paid contact the Department of Labor. Good luck.... Read More

Unless an employer has a contract with its employees to the contrary, it is always free to adjust salary/hourly rates prospectively (ie into the future) and the employee can choose to work for those wages or not.  However an employer is NOT free to adjust wages retroactively.  Once an employee works the time, the employer is obligated to pay for that time at the previously agreed-upon rate.  With respect to the two week-notice issue, if there are hours that have been worked and not yet paid at the time an employee resigns without giving the two-week notice, the employer is not free to reduce the hourly rate it will pay for those hours.  However if an employee gives a 1 week notice (or some notice less than two weeks) the employer is free to say that for the remainder of his time as an employee of the company he will only be paid minimum wage.  The employee can then choose to work for the remining time or not.... Read More