Employment Law Q&A by State
Your current state is Virginia
Employment Law Questions & Answers
Q: Is it legal to force employees to take a day of PTO for a holiday in which the business is closed?
My friend is a nurse that works for a Sisters of Mercy clinic in the state of Missouri. Every major holiday, such as Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., the clinic is closed but the nurses are forced to take a day of PTO for the "missed" day, even though the department made the choice to... Read more »
Unless your friend is subject to a contract that her employer is breaking, it is "legal." An employer is generally not required to give any paid time off in Missouri.
Q: Can I still sue my employer from a injury that happened in February of 2017 even if I just settled a workers comp.claim.
I'm gonna be unable to work because my injury will always be a part of my everyday life. A box slammed down on my left hand between my thumb and wrist and has left a large knot that hurts when lifting things and excessive usage causes it to swell. Doctors have named it chronic pain syndrome and... Read more »
you are asking a workers comp question on a PI or Criminal law forum.
hopefully, you had a lawyer on the WC case and that is to whom you should pose the question.
WC is usually the solution for work injuries and you should have been paid for future meds too.
contact a WC... Read more »
Q: Can a company ask you to work for 2 days as a "work test" period with no pay before they offer to hire you?
HVAC company offering a dispatch position. Already had an initial interview, that is when they told me about this "work test" thing. I have never heard of anything like this before and it set off some red flags
You are required to be paid at least minimum wage for all hours you perform work on behalf of the company. This sort of work-for-free period would not be permitted.
Q: In Tennessee can an employer ask that a potential employee have their own background check and fingerprints done?
Absolutely. You do not have to work there, and can be fired for any reason.
Q: I'm being terminated and only paid 3 months of severance. How can I negotiate my severance package?
I work at a technology company in New York and have been employed for 2 years. I'm being asked to sign termination paperwork that includes a lump sum severance payment, worth around 14 weeks of pay. I don't think this is sufficient given that I'll need to leave the US afterwards.
Should I... Read more »
If you will need to leave the U.S. that sounds like a Visa / immigration issue.
Contact an immigration lawyer familiar with H1B or whatever type of work Visa you may have. Those lawyers emphasize or specialize in immigration issues.
No employer in the U.S. is required to pay any... Read more »
Q: How to find out if I have a case? For unpaid overtime
I’ve worked 96 hours and didn’t receive overtime,now it’s the second pay period and my employer added 4hours of regular pay onto this pay check? Is this correct?
Whether you are entitled to overtime or not will depend on how many hours you worked in each workday, and how many hours you worked in each workweek of the pay period.
Most employees are entitled to overtime whenever they work more than 8 hours in any single workday, or more than 40 hours... Read more »
Q: What can I do about getting fired and not getting payed?
I got payed last on June 19th which is everyone’s payday (every 2 weeks) I have direct deposit. I got fired the 27th and so I thought I would get my last paycheck on payday, but I didn’t. That was suppose to be on the July 3rd. It’s July 17 and still nothing. Also when I got fired, the... Read more »
Under California law your employer is generally required to pay your final wages at the time of your termination. If they failed to do so, you may recover the unpaid wages plus you may be eligible to recover a penalty in the amount of your daily earnings for up to 30 days.
You should... Read more »
Q: Hi, I work in CA, 95035. I recently quit my job on 28th June. My employer is not paying my final payment.
My offer letter which I signed during my start of the employment says this " This arrangement may be terminated by either party upon notice in writing to either party with a notice of two weeks."
When I asked my final payment, my employer wants to keep half of my salary as I didn't serve... Read more »
A notice provision is enforceable to the extent that the employer can sue you for damages that it incurs as a result of you leaving without giving the required notice. However the employer cannot simply not pay you money that is owed to you. It has to pay you all that you are owed, and then seek... Read more »
Q: Is it possible to get a court order against a majority shareholder?
She is spending the company money at a massive rate, without the consent of the other shareholders or the other directors. Unfortunately, it is stated in the previous owners will that she get 60% of the shares.
Is it possible to declare her delinquent and force her to give up her shares?... Read more »
There may be a way to fix this problem--but not by "declaring her delinquent"--whatever that means.
Q: NON Compete clause
My new employer gave me a non compete clause that states I can not work in medical coding for 24 months after serperation from them wether its voluntary or involuntary. How is this legal? So if they fire me they can turn around and nail me for getting another job doing what my career is in?
Without reading the entire document--and knowing that Florida judges generally do not like overbearing non-competes I am concerned about the lawful ability of your employer to force you to sign a non-compete and then turn around and fire you--without cause--and then prevent you from seeking... Read more »
Q: I want to know what the risks are for an employer if the prospective employee has a restraint of trade held against them
The employment contract which contained the restraint of trade clause was first singed 2 years after employment and not when I started working for the company and i had only singed it out of fear of losing my job. I also only had about 3 hours to read through it before it had to be singed.... Read more »
Never mind worrying about "what the risks are for your employer." You need a lawyer to advise you what to do FOR YOURSELF.
Q: Can I break my employment contract if my employer is preventing me from doing my job as a manager?
The owner of the hotel that I work for hired me as General Manager yet does not pay bills on time, overrides my decisions as a manager, and creates a hostile work environment for my employees.
If you have a signed a written employment contract with your employer look closely for any terms that would allow you to break the contract or broken promises made by the employer; but before you do anything you should run this stuff by an Indiana lawyer experienced in employment law.
Q: My daughter had an interview at winco foods and the assistant manager asked if she was "HOT" Do I have a case?
My daughters bestfriends dad works there also and he put a good word in to the assis manager for her and the first question he asked him was if my daughter was "HOT"
That comment was certainly inappropriate, but there are several things that would suggest there is no legal case based on that one comment.
First, the comment was not made to her or in her presence, so the likelihood that the comment could be used to claim some kind of harassment is... Read more »
Q: If I'm already working for an company, can they fire me if a background check company doesn't provide a timely response
Let's suppose the background check company is the Federal OPM office, and the background check is for a standard public trust level job that doesn't require a secret or top-secret level clearance and that none of the jobs at your work site are classified. Further, Let's suppose the governments HR... Read more »
This sounds like a hypothetical question. An employer can always come up with a reason to deny you a clearance, no matter how high or low the level of the clearance.
Q: If you don't take a break at work, can your employer still take the time out from your check?
You're over 18
You've worked over 10 hours
2 hours and 30 minutes worth of money was taken out of the check
An employer must pay employees for time worked. An employer cannot refuse to pay an employee who could not take a break and who actually worked through the break. If this is the situation, you may wish to consult with an employment lawyer. The laws are set up so that the employer can be forced... Read more »
Q: Is a verbal contract legal between a general contractor and sub contractor.
Labor work was completed by myself (sub-contractor) between 60-70 days ago and general contractor has not paid me. General contractor says he doesn't have the funds to pay me.
Yes.
Q: I worked for car dealer and they let me use the cars in the lot. On Sunday I got hit, little damage
on the right front fender (I was not a the scene,found it like that). I got fired and now he wants to withhold my commission from a two car sales last week? If this is legal, how can I make sure he is not overcharging for the repair and adding extras to the damage?
Contact a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Assn who handles employment matters. It's not legal to withhold pay. If the fender damage was not your fault tell him his dealer insurance should cover.
If fired you can collect unemployment as you would contest his saying it's for "good cause"... Read more »
Q: My wages are being garnished by employment for old credit card debt. If I quit my job and work as a 1099 what can happen
This is in Alabama and the bank is capital one for one judgement for around $1,200 which is being garnished as a regular employee and I have another judgment for $2,000 something that can’t be garnished because I’m already being garnished I never went to court for this. If I was as a 1099 or... Read more »
Changing your employment status from regular employee to 1099 independent contractor will NOT stop or prevent a judgment creditor from seizing part of your paycheck. In fact, changing status will INCREASE the amount of the paycheck--which should bring a smile to your judgment creditor's ugly face.
Q: I work in an office and my boss will only let us use the bathroom on our 15 minute breaks. Is that legal?
Not a very good work environment, but yes.
Q: Today I was fired from my job. My boss said I’d be rehired if I work an unpaid internship for a month. Is this legal?
It's always hard to give an answer without all the circumstances.
Nevertheless, what you describe does not sound legal.
Who is the employer?
When did you start working for the employer?
What was your job?
Why did they say they fired you?
Do you... Read more »
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