Answers Posted By Richard J. Vaznaugh

Answer to Commissioned dealer employees: What are the laws?

Wages and Termination

They were supposed to pay you your last paycheck on 12/21/04 so they owe you a penalty from that of about 17 days of wages - that's your total, most recent wage rate including bonuses divided by the number of work days to come up with a daily rate.

I don't know enough to answer about the chargebacks.

If you would like a consultation I charge a discounted rate of $225 for an initial consultation of about an hour or $450 for a two hour-ish consult.

Sincerely, Richard Vaznaugh

posted Feb 7, 2005 3:05 PM [EST]

Answer to lay off while pregnant

Pregnancy Discrimination

Employers are not required to pay maternity leave but may have a disability plan -- which you should ask about . State administered programs like EDD disability benefits probably apply if your employer doesn't offer you benefits for the leave.

Is there any evidence that the lay off was motivated by your pregnancy?

posted Feb 3, 2005 5:34 PM [EST]

Answer to not get the check

final check on day of term

If you were terminated you are supposed to be paid your last check on that day. There is a penalty. The Cal. Dept. of Ind. Relations can help you with this. The web site is www.dir.ca.gov. Good luck.

posted Jun 22, 2004 6:37 PM [EST]

Answer to Whistle blower retaliation and wrongful term

Wrongful term consult

While this may be a wrongful termination -- there are too few facts to determine what, if any, causes of action exists. In this situation, I could do a pre-representation consultation for an hour or so at a discounted flat rate of $200. Please let me know if you are interested. I do have time this week or late next week. Sincerely, Richard Vaznaugh 415-593-0076

posted Apr 5, 2004 3:48 PM [EST]

Answer to Is this be Family leave retaliation?

CFRA INTERFERENCE

Hi, Assuming that your employer has 50 plus employer's tahn this is is definitely illegal "interference" and retaliation. Quiting is problematic as that will make it difficult for you to maintain a claim against them later -- not to mention no Unemployment benefits.

If this is affecting your health - better to take medical leave for your stress.

It may be hard to hire a good lawyer pre-termination unless you can pay by the hour -- which is expensive. However you should invest and pay an employment lawyer a couple of hours to help you think this through and explain your options later. Try Celaweb.org to find one in your area. Janet Koehn and Jim Cordes are both specialized and good and, I think, practice in your area. Good Luck, Richard J. Vaznaugh, Esq.

posted Mar 20, 2004 2:54 PM [EST]

Answer to Non Payment of Wages

Unpaid Wages

Assuming you are an employee (and not an independent contractor) you can immediately file in person, and at no charge, a claim with the California Labor Commissioner -- I'm pretty sure there is an office in San Jose. In addition to the wages, there is a penalty of up to 30 days of wages you can collect for the delayed payment. If Bankruptcy, you will have a priority claim for wages earned witin 90 days prior to the bankruptcy -- so at least you won't be at the end of the line. Good luck, RV

posted Jan 27, 2004 11:21 PM [EST]

Answer to vesting period for accued vacation to be payable on termination

Vacation pay and Penalty

This sounds like a straight forward case. But, preliminarily I would need to know how much you earned in order to calculate the vacation pay and penalty owed or know if there is enough $$ at stake.

While I will almost certainly be able to get a good settlement, my attorneys fees will need to be paid upfront or as a percenetage of the judgment.

Attorneys fees are recoverable but it doesn't always equal the contingency amount. A couple of years ago I did recover a $26K penalty for a IT security specialist based on $4K in unpaid wages.

Please respond by email or telephone. Sincerely, Richard Vaznaugh -- 415-593-0076

posted Jan 22, 2004 4:45 PM [EST]

Answer to Does Severance Agreement Disclude Unemployment Benefits?

Just write in an exclusion

Probably not, since technically UE is a claim with EDD, not the employer. If you want to be safe, just write into the agreement as follows: "this agreement does not preclude me from applying for or receiving unemployment benefits."

Note however that if the severance is treated as continuing wages then EDD may not want to pay UE benefits until the wage peried is exhausted. Better is to get a lumpsum severance payment.

Sometimes it is worthwhile to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a severance review with an experienced employment attorney before signing these things.

Look at Celaweb.org to find an employment lawyer near you.

posted Nov 14, 2003 6:01 PM [EST]

Answer to Fired with no reason and given negative employment reference.

wages, retaliation, defamation

The easiest answer is what you already know -- every California employee is entitled to immediate and complete payment at the time of termination of all wages due, including vacation and overtime. When you recover you should also collect a penalty equal to 30 days of wages.

As to the termination issues, most employees can be fired legally for any or no reason. There are important exceptions such as for discrimination, retaliation and whistleblowing -- such terminations are illegal. It is unclear why the employer would fire your husband for this letter. If the employer concluded that your husband was responsible for the problems cited in the letter (even if the tenants attribute them to the prop. manager) probably not illegal. If your husband complained of illegality and the employer retaliated then may be illegal depending on what legal violations were complained.

Finally, the negative employment reference may be illegal if it is false. A truthful but negative reference is not illegal. So, you need more information on what was said and to whom. There is a service at www.badreferences.com that will give you a reference report for a fee. I have not used them but you may find this is helpful.

Sincerely, Richard J. Vaznaugh, Esq. 415-593-0076

posted Nov 3, 2003 1:52 PM [EST]

Answer to What type of work ethics is this???

One answer to many questions

There is alot condensed in your question and I don't know enough to answer most of the points.

What I will say is that if you are on an H1-B visa the employer cannot decrease your wages below what was stated in the application for your visa. The US Dept of Labor has a wage and hour enforcement division that can help you with this. Also, unless you have some sort of contract to the contrary, you typically don't need "just cause" to legally resign. RV

posted Oct 22, 2003 2:07 PM [EST]