Answers Posted By Jeanne M. Valentine

You're right, severance pay is not mandatory unless the employer is obligated to pay it pursuant to an employment contract. Precedence doesn't apply where they are under no obligation to pay severance to begin with. Ask yourself if the owners are all younger than you or if they have made any comments about "retiring" or your age and, if so, perhaps they are terminating you due to your age rather then lack of business. That would be unlawful - it's not easy to prove but be sure all your rights are protected.
Good luck.
Jeanne M. Valentine
www.HusonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

answer to I know severance pay isn't mandatory, but......... posted Apr 25, 2012 4:43 PM [EST]

New York considers your employment to be "at will." that means you can be fired or you can quit at any time for any reason (other than a violation of your civil or statutory rights, which appear to not be an issue here). Because you don't have a contract obligating your employer to keep you employed for any specific length of time, they can fire you today, next week, after the company implements the new system - whenever. As long as they pay you for the work you're doing, they have met their end of any employment relationship you have. You don't have a right to future employment - no one does without a contract. If you want a contract to guarantee future employment, you should speak with a lawyer to have a proposal drafted.
Good luck.
Jeannie Valentine
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

answer to what are my options if my company is using me to help with outsourcing posted Apr 10, 2012 10:22 AM [EST]

Bullying in the workplace is not unlawful. Employment in the US is "at will" which means employees are not indentured servants and are free to quit at any time, for any reason. There is no legal entitlement to a job, no entitlement to a pleasant working environment and no entitlement to fair treatment amongst employees (although all employees are entitled to be treated fairly with respect to their age, sexual orientation, gender, race and religion). If you're being discrimnated against due to those factors, then maybe you have something but there is no protection from being a "non-member" of an organization unless it's a recognized labor union. And trust me, even fighting a labor union is an uphill battle.

Good luck.

answer to how can i prove the masons are an organized gang who bully non members in the workplace? posted Feb 10, 2012 7:54 PM [EST]

There is far too much information missing from your post to adequately assess it. Most importantly, what was the "leave" you were talking about? There are special rules for employers concerning medical/caregiver leave that may apply. Otherwise, employers are free to fire employees for any reason or no reason at all in NY, and it is universally true that an employer is entitled to terminate an employee who walks off the job. You are always entitled to fight for unemployment benefits, but whether you will win is largely dependent on the leave to which you refer and the nature of your argument with your supervisor. Good luck.

Jeannie Valentine
The Valentine Law Office PLLC
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

answer to Cursed at and threatend with a corrective action (write Up) posted Jan 28, 2012 3:13 PM [EST]

Vacation pay is governed by the employer's company policy. There is no law in NY requiring any employer to pay vacation pay due or earned when employment terminates; instead, the law states that employees must be paid vacation/holiday/personal/sick pay in accordance with company policy. However, I would have advised the employer to treat each person exactly the same in every situation because the employer risks the NYS Department of Labor finding that the policy is not "hard and fast," and so they do owe vacation pay that is in line with their "practice." I believe you have a good argument to be paid your vacation pay because the employer has made exceptions to its policy in the past, although your argument is not the proverbial slam dunk. You have nothing to lose to pursue it. Good luck.

Jeanne M. Valentine
www.hudsonvalleyemploymentlaw.com

answer to Is an employer required to pay vacation pay if exceptions were made to past employees? posted Nov 22, 2011 9:18 PM [EST]

As long as you complained about the illegal activity, or stated your objection to it, and refused to participate in the illegal activity and stated your reasons for refusing to participate, AND if you can prove you were essentially forced to quit, then your termination may have been unlawful. In NY, an employer is prohibited from retaliating against an employee for refusing to participate in insurance fraud, but only if the employee has objected to the fraud; the employer must know you objected to it. Retaliation claims typically have a one-year statute of limitations so you may have missed the deadline to file a law suit. You need to discuss the details of the fraud and the circumstances surrounding your resignation with an employment lawyer to know your rights - everything is fact-specific. Good luck.

Jeannie Valentine
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

answer to Do I have any legal rights as I resigned from my position when asked to do something illegal. posted Oct 3, 2011 2:15 PM [EST]

The simple answer is no. Non-competes can be enforceable as long as they are fair regardless of how your employment terminates. Fair is defined by various factors under the law. If you were fired because the company could not pay you, effectively laid off for instance, then it's probably not enforceable in NY. You need to have an employment lawyer look at the language to adequately advise you on whether and where you may be able to work and for how long. Good luck.
Jeanie Valentine
www.hudsonvalleyemploymentlaw.com

answer to I signed a, NON COMPETE CLAUSE posted Sep 27, 2011 6:07 PM [EST]

Hello. It seems like your situation is very unfair, and unfortunately typical when an employer wants to convince an employee to quit. Employees have the right to enjoy a work place free from discrimination and retaliation based on your statutory or civil rights: your employer may not harass you because of your age, race, sexuality, gender, religion or if you're pregnant or a whistleblower (you tell a governing authority about unlawful practices in the company). However, there is no right to a pleasant working environment or to fair treatment amongst colleagues. I see nothing in your post that would support a claim that your employer is violating your civil rights. It reads as if you are simply in a bad place with a bad boss, and there is nothing unlawful about that because you are free to leave. As for the non-compete, you may have something there...depending on when it was issued, if it was renewed, if it's supported by consideration, how broad it is, etc. Contact an employment lawyer to look it over for you and maybe you'd be ok to compete if you quit or if you're fired based on the langage. NY courts often do not enforce non-competes unless they meet very strict requirements. Good luck.
Jeannie Valentine
www.hudsonvalleyemploymentlaw.com

answer to My employer is trying to force me to resign through extreme micro-management posted Sep 27, 2011 12:04 PM [EST]

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answer to My employer is trying to force me to resign through extreme micro-management posted Sep 27, 2011 12:03 PM [EST]

The answer depends on what you complained about. Employees not in a protected class who complain about a violation of a public health law, or about any behavior that arguably affects public health, or that you have a statutory right to complain about (such as a teacher who is prohibited from calling CPS as a mandatory reporter of child abuse, for instance) is protected in NYS under the Whistleblower laws. However, employees are not entitled to a pleasant working environment, and employees have no "right" to complain about behavior that is not harassing based on a protected activity or class. If the employer is simply bullying you because they don't like you anymore, unfortunately that is not actionable (yet!) in NYS. So, ask yourself if the complaint you made could be arguably about something dangerous to the public or other employees. If not, then the employer is free to nit-pick. Good luck.

Jeanne M. Valentine
The Valentine Law Office PLLC
www.HudsonValleyEmploymentLaw.com

answer to What if an employee is retaliated against regarding a reported issue outside of protected classes? posted May 23, 2011 8:54 PM [EST]