Uncompensated Work

As with all employment questions, the nature of your employment and the reason for the suspension are of great importance.  If you have a collective bargaining agreement, a Union, or personal contract with your employer, the terms of your employment will be spelled out in these documents.  This includes what may constitute grounds for punishments such as suspensions.  An employer is bound by the terms of these contracts, and there may be legal actions that can be taken if they are breached. There are also situations where you do not have a contract, but there is an employee manual.    Courts have held that employers are bound by the manuals they give out to employees in certain situations.  Just as with a contract, legal action can be taken if the rules in a manual are violated. Lastly, if there is no form of contract or manual, you will be considered an employee at will.  This means that the employer can hire, fire, or take any other action against an employee without cause or stating a reason.  The only legal action that can be taken in this case is when the action taken is a pretext to hide a true motive of discrimination or to punish lawful an otherwise lawful, which would violate both federal and state law.  Since you have an appeals process, I suspect you have some form of manual or contract which lays out the grounds for your rights and your appeal.  These would have to be discovered, examined, and compared to the facts of each suspension to determine if legal action is the best course. Should you have any other questions or concerns, my firm has attorneys who also focus on civil, criminal, family, municipal, elder, commercial, and real estate law.  Visit our website anytime at www.cldds.com for more information on how to contact us.