help with a labor legal issue plz
 

short version

last saturday i was told by my boss i was making 12 dollars and hour this past monday.. i worked all week yet mondy we got in a tiff and to save time i quit.

as his last defiant jesture he wrote my check out for 11 dollars and hour.

5 of his employees know i was makeing 12 dollars all last week and 2 sub contracters also know this.

ive made a photo copy of the check and had it notorized.

i called him and told him he did me wrong and that if he didnt have the rest of my money by wensday i'd take him to court.

no who would i contact about that.. the labor board or a local lawyer?

granted im so mad right now i could just go back and kick the crap outta him but thats not my way.

On the check that he wrote you, did he write final payment or anything of that sort? and did you cash the check? (in some cases, if you cashed the check then you accepted that as your final payment.)

do you have proof, in writing, that you were making 12 dollars an hour? (It doesn't matter what anyone else was making, what you were making is what is in question)

How much money is in question here? Small claims court would probably be your best place to go...

As far as I know, the law as it applies to this specific situation is pretty vague -- especially if you're classified as an "independent contractor" by the company/state. Unless you have something in writing (like an Offer Letter) stating you'd make $12/hr, it's really your word against his that he offered you $12 and not $11. If you can demonstrate getting $12/hr for previous weeks, you might be a establish a case simply based on precedence; you assumed that you'd be paid how you had been in the past. Ultimately, though... if you don't have something in writing.. you've got almost no legal footing.

yeah but the thing is as we had a heated argument with witnesses around he did it outta spite..

louisiana he's screwed a verbal agrement is like a writen contract here.. pwn


also ive got a verbal voice mail with him admiting he raised my pay.. weither i can use it or not i dont know.. but with small town politics me and my family have alot of pull

we arent talking about a gaint corp in a big city here

just a country redneck bumpkin that thought he could get a slast snit out by jyping me of my pay

$12/hr vs. $11/hr for say, 50 hrs max? So it's $50 or so. I say don't sweat it. People like that manufacture their own punishment.
There is a saying "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get covered in muck, and the pig likes it."

Yeah, how many hours are we talking?

small claims court, make sure to get him for the legal fees too...

Contact the labor board first, they will likely hold a little more clout in his eyes. With a small claims action, you get the money he owes you, and he walks away having to give you 40 or 50 bucks and suffers no scrutiny. With the labor board, they are gonna wanna see his payroll records, time cards, proof of overtime pay, proof he's paid any benefits offered, proof of workmans comp payments etc. and they may require he pay you interest.

Labor board.

In my state, an employer has 48 hours to give you your last paycheck if you quit. If he doesn't, you're still on the clock until he does. (I believe here there is a limit of 30 days.)

Bottom line--the labor board hears this kind of thing all the time. They can most likely advise you of your options, and they carry a bigger stick than small claims.

I'd contact him first and advise him that you are going to be seeking legal recourse.

Certainly, the $50 of the dispute is far less than any potential legal fees he might incur. Therefore, it is in his best interest to settle with you and get on with his life.

Set it out in these terms.

Sounds like you quit with no notice. If that is the case, and he never previously paid you $12/hour, I don't think you have much to stand on. Quiting with no notice trumps pretty much anything else in the eyes of most judge-types as you failed to honor an uwritten contract of giving notice. Why should he honor a verbal statement to increase your pay if you quit the same week it was to go into effect. Also, sounds like he offered the raise and it wasn't something the two of you negotiated for continued employment.

By the way, if it's not in writing it isn't worth much; witnesses aren't worth much in cases like this.