California Labor Law Violation: "Your Check Is in the Mail"

Martinez, CA Denise's co-workers and a few of her bosses made life so miserable for her that she had no choice but to resign. "The bosses accepted my resignation and, as per our contract, I gave three weeks notice," says Denise. "But the office manager said, 'Why don't you just leave now, because you were just fired.' I was in shock." The next day Denise asked if her final check was ready and the boss said it was sent by certified mail - a violation of the California labor law.

According to the California labor code, an employee who is discharged must be paid all of his or her wages, including accrued vacation, immediately at the time of termination. If you resign voluntarily, then California labor law requires that your employer pay you all final wages within 72 hours.

If the employer does not comply, California labor laws enforce financial penalties to employers called Waiting Time Penalties. California Labor Code 203 states, "If an employer willfully fails to pay…any wages of an employee who is discharged or who quits, the wages of the employee shall continue as a penalty from the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefore is commenced."

In addition to waiting time penalties, California Labor Code 218.6 provides for the awarding of interest on all due and unpaid wages at an annual rate of 10 percent. California employees can also expect to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs in any action brought for the non payment of wages.

According to Denise, she was fired. "When I gave my resignation, my boss said, 'As soon as you are done today, make sure you have all your appointments written down for us,' and my office manager also interpreted that comment as getting fired," says Denise. The next day she went back to work, to return the company phone and tie up a few loose ends, and pick up her final check.

"I finally got my check one week later. That is a California labor law violation," Denise explains. "The letter said I was fired as of April 28, not the April 26, which is the day I left. I believe they were covering themselves by changing the date two days later because they didn't have the check ready.

"The events leading up to my termination are a long story, so I'll make it brief. When I was first hired as supervisor of a number of group homes, I told the boss that I wanted to change a few things and he was all for that because they were money-saving changes. Right of the get-go I felt friction from the staff.

"I heard from a few co-workers that a lot of the staff were bad-mouthing me, including discriminatory remarks, such as 'white bitch.' (I'm white and the majority of the staff is black.) The bosses had so many discrimination suits against them already from firing people they were afraid to take any disciplinary action; they just told me to be careful and document everything. I had a number of complaints against me, saying I was rude. But the complaints were retaliation for cutting people's hours - I was just doing my job."