Answers Posted By Adam Kielich

Answer to What do I do after quitting one company for another upon their request and I havent worked since?

Always a tough situation where a new opportunity wants you to start right away and you have to abandon a current job right away. Legal issues aside, you have to consider your career. Will it be harmful to have an employer not want you back or maybe not give a good reference because of how you left? What does it say about an employer who demands you think about their needs above anybody else? Clearly from this situation not much positive.

As far as the legal issues go the best thing to do is talk to an employment attorney in your area.

posted Jan 30, 2022 12:00 PM [EST]

Answer to I took on an additional 40 hr job while still doing mine with no extra pay increase

An important distinction here is whether you are actually working more than forty hours or you are expected to work two forty hour jobs in your normal work hours. If you work more than forty hours then you must be paid overtime pay unless you are overtime exempt under both state and federal law. I suspect this question means you are expected to do two jobs in the same amount of time. In that case at least under federal law you are not legally entitled to more pay for more responsibilities (Ohio state law may say differently). Unfair for sure but probably not illegal.

As far as the lunch and break time, Ohio may require employers to give you break or rest periods. I do not practice in Ohio and unsure of what that state's law may require. In Texas your rights to break time are fairly limited. (See more at https://www.kielichlawfirm.com/employment-law/) />
As far as the harassment issue, I would definitely need more facts to determine whether the employer's conduct rises to the legal definition of harassment under federal and state law. It certainly seems worth exploring.

The bottom line here is this sounds like an unpleasant workplace where you are asked to do more than what your compensation reflects. When this question was asked jobs might have been tough to come by but today I would suggest considering finding new employment right away and consider claims against the current employer afterwards.

posted Jan 30, 2022 11:52 AM [EST]

Answer to fired vs quit

Often employers defend unemployment claims by asserting the employee quit rather than was fired without cause--which seems to be the case here. I am unfamiliar with Pennsylvania law so I will only answer the question generally with the handful of facts in the question. There is an argument to be made that once your employer told you that your position was eliminated and your option was to accept termination or accept a different job with short term employment and meaningfully different conditions that your position had ended no matter which option you chose. In that case you were discharged from your original position either way. I am not sure if Pennsylvania law agrees with that argument. Your best option would be to talk to an employment attorney in your state. For more about Texas law see https://www.kielichlawfirm.com/employment-law/.

posted Jan 30, 2022 11:45 AM [EST]

Answer to i quit and hours cut from 5.97 to 5.15 is this legal

Like most employment law issues this question has a lot of details which might affect the answer to this situation. Most notably the state where work was performed would affect which state law may apply. The general rule is that an employer cannot change the rate of pay for work already performed. In some states, if not all states, an employer can unilaterally change your rate of pay for future work as long as you receive proper notice. You mention there may be some employment contract which could create different rules than what state or federal law requires. Best thing you could do in these situations is consult an employment attorney in your area and learn more about your options. For more info on Texas employment law see https://www.kielichlawfirm.com/employment-law/.

posted Jan 30, 2022 11:40 AM [EST]

Answer to If you were given a sign on bonus and three weeks after hire they terminate you, are you required to pay back bonus if the contract does not say anything about termination just if you resign you pay back bonus? Can they withhold your paycheck?

The most accurate answer depends upon the language of your hiring documents. Without seeing those it is difficult to give you advice specific to your situation.

Generally, employers structure hiring bonuses so that they must be repaid if you terminate employment, not the other way around. But again, without seeing your hiring documents there's no way to give you meaningful advice specific to your employment situation.

Best advice I can give you under these circumstances is to talk to a local employment lawyer about the situation. Even if the hiring documents do not require you to repay the hiring bonus if fired, the employer might still try to hold up paychecks or deny unemployment. You may also have whistleblower or age discrimination-related claims to consider pursuing.

posted Jan 6, 2019 12:48 AM [EST]

Answer to My job is ending in 6 weeks due to site closing, my specific department has been sent to Mexico. Does this make any difference in my unemployment benefits in colorado?

You likely have a good claim for unemployment benefits because you did not lose your job due to malfeasance on your part.

It's hard to say if there might be any legal claims against the employer under federal or Colorado law without knowing more details. Generally employers can close work sites or layoff employees at their own discretion but there are a a small number of extremely narrow exceptions. Take a look at this page for some more information about Colorado labor and employment law: https://www.kielichlawfirm.com/colorado-labor-laws-denver-employment-lawyers/ />
It may be worthwhile to talk to an employment attorney near you about the situation. Let him or her discuss details with you and assess potential options.

posted Jan 3, 2019 2:54 PM [EST]

Answer to If an employer sends an employee to training are they required to pay for travel time

With mandatory training you are likely owed wages for the training and travel time to the training. Under the FLSA you likely are owed wages for the travel time if the travel time was irregular from your normal work commute time or you live in Denver and the travel time was minimal. State wage law may set a more generous standard for travel time. (See https://denverlaborlaw.com/colorado-employment-law/unpaid-wage-lawyer-denver/ for more information.)

Additionally, if you work under an individual or collective employment contract then the contract may include provisions discussing work hours and may provide additional remedies.

posted Aug 25, 2018 1:04 PM [EST]

Answer to They refuse to pay me overtime

The first question is whether you are a salaried, exempt employee. Employees exempt from overtime provisions of the FLSA and Texas Payday Law are not entitled to overtime pay for hours over forty in the workweek. If you are hourly and nonexempt then you are entitled to overtime pay for those hours. If that is the case then it sounds like you might not be paid correctly. If they are deducting an hour for lunch but only giving you half an hour for lunch then that extra half hour of supposed lunch you worked is compensable work time.

It sounds like there needs to be clarification on the lunch policy and the policy at the end of your shift when late patients come in. If they don't want you working beyond the end of your scheduled shift then they need to figure out something to do when late patients come in. You should also talk to an employment lawyer about the potentially unpaid overtime and other wages for hours already worked.

posted Aug 25, 2018 1:00 PM [EST]

Answer to Are they liable to pay me for entire length of resignation?

Under general circumstances an employer is not required to pay for time covered by a resignation letter.

The employer might have a policy to pay for the period of time covered by a resignation letter if the employer chooses to release the employee from work before the resignation date. In that case the employer might be liable for unpaid wages for that time period. But that only applies if the employer voluntarily adopted such a policy. Take a look at this page for more info about unpaid wage claims in Colorado: https://denverlaborlaw.com/colorado-employment-law/unpaid-wage-lawyer-denver/

posted Jan 29, 2018 11:15 AM [EST]

Answer to Can A Previous Employer Make Extraordinary Attempts To Prevent Someone From Obtaining New Job?

Generally a former employer can be liable to a former employee for defamation and fraudulent misrepresentation if the information it provides is provably wrong. A former employer is free to give opinions even if those opinions are harmful. Can you factually prove the employer does not consider you a troublemaker or that there is no factual basis to form that opinion? Much more difficult to prove that position than if the former employer stated specific allegations of your conduct that are untrue. These situations are best dealt with by talking to an employment lawyer right away.

posted Jan 29, 2018 11:10 AM [EST]