Employer Protection from Fraudulent Wage Claims
Under CA law, what protections exist for an employer being fraudulently billed by a telecommuting hourly employee. We have a w-2 employee who agreed in writing that our customer would validate all hours worked prior to payment of wages. The customer will not validate the hours worked saying that the work product produced does not merit the time billed.
The Employee has made a claim with the Labor Commission for the unpaid wages and of course penalties. It seems that Employers must have some protection from telecommuters who refuse to document hours worked in any fashion other than writing down 12 8's on a time sheet and submitting same for pay.The contract is clear in the regard that the hours must be validated by the customer(Client) and that it is the employee's responsibilty to obtain this validation.Thank you
Answers (1)
if you are in business and have an employee, whether a telecommuter or not, it is your responsibility to comply with all labor laws. you should be willing, as your question indicates you are not, to pay someone for advice as to how to comply with those laws if you do not know. an employee leasing company, a temp agency, or a management-side labor lawyer can provide you with this advice. but just as you are paid for what you sell, so should they be.
you need to see your attorney immediately if you are being sued, and to expect to pay your attorney for advice and services to protect you from or to minimize your liability. you also can get advice for free from the dlse (where the claim was filed) and sometimes from the edd's employer services, which can answer all questions regarding payroll taxes and some questions regarding other matters. your local edd probably has an employer organization that meets regularly, whre you can meet other small employers who share tips, advice and referrals to professionals who can help you.
posted by Janet M. Koehn | Apr 25, 2005 3:19 PM [EST]
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