Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

IT IS bad enough to lose one’s job; it is worse when an employee is not provided what is rightfully due him or her upon leaving the workplace. Knowing your rights upon the end of an employment relationship may help you weather the transition of being in between jobs. The following provides some helpful guidelines:

First: Make sure that the employment relationship has ended and there is no misunderstanding about this. Employment can end by resignation or lay offs. An employee can also be "discharged." "Discharge" includes involuntary termination. It also includes release of an employee upon completing a specific job assignment or when the time duration for which the employee was hired is ended.

Second: Consider any payment that might be due to you upon termination. Your employer may owe you unpaid wages for the days you have worked prior to your discharge. Has your employer paid you for all work performed beyond 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week? Have you been paid for work done during missed lunch or rest breaks? If you were eligible for vacation, you may also be owed payment for unused vacation time.

Third: If any payment is due, your employer must immediately pay all compensation due and owing to you. The employer should pay you "at the place of discharge." If you quit (this means you were not "discharged"), you should be paid at the office or agency of the employer in the county where you worked.

If you are owed money, the employer has the obligation to make sure that you receive your payment. If the employer tells you that they will mail the check, you must consent to such an arrangement. If the employer sent the final paycheck by mail without your consent, and the check was not received, it is considered that no payment has been made. You may also authorize the employer to pay the wages into your bank account.

If you resigned from work, the employer must pay all compensation due and owing within 72 hours of the resignation. If you gave more than 72 hours’ notice of resignation, then all compensation due and owing must be paid on the last day of work.

If an employer willfully fails to pay "without abatement or deduction" wages due to an employee who quits or is discharged, the employee’s wages continue as a penalty until paid, for up to 30 days (this is called "waiting time penalties"). Generally, unpaid wages accrue on a daily basis, not only on days that the employee might have worked, but also on nonworkdays. Hence, if the employee is regularly paid $120 per day, the employer may be held liable to pay up to $3,600 in penalty for not paying the terminated employee on time.