Answers Posted By J. Griffin Morgan

Answer to My employer owes me $50K and terminated my contract

4 steps to take to protect your wage claim

You should:

(1) write a chronology of your employment history with the employer;

(2) make copies of all relevant documents, including employment contracts,
documents supporting your claim of unpaid commissions and compensation;

(3) make a list of potential witnesses (good and bad), include job title,address and phone numbers, with a short summary of what you expect
each witness will say,

(4) then contact a good lawyer with experience in employment law.

You may also want to contact the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to file a complaint. However, filing a complain with the Department of Labor will not prevent your statute of limitations from running, so you should still explore a possible civil case with your own attorney.

J. Griffin Morgan


posted Feb 21, 2001 3:00 PM [EST]

Answer to Cannot get over death at work

The company has a duty to protect employees from h

The company may not have broken any statutory law (a law passed by the General Assembly), but it may have violated the standard of care owed to its employees to protect them from harm. The family of the man who died may
have a claim in civil court, but I would have to know many more facts to give an opinion.

The family of the man who died may also have a claim for
workers' compensation death benefits depending on what caused the heart attack. Your wife also has a potential workers' compensation claim
depending on whether she begins to miss work or need medical treatment as a
result of the stress she is suffering.

J. Griffin Morgan

posted Feb 19, 2001 5:40 PM [EST]

Answer to Terminated before probation period ended

Unsatisfactory job performance does not amount to

A person is not disqualified from unemployment because of inability to do the job. The following is a quote from a leading case in North Carolina, Douglas v. J.C. Penny ,67 N.C.App. 344 (1984).
Good luck getting your benefits.
Claimant was denied benefits after it was determined that she was discharged for misconduct connected with work pursuant to G.S. 96-14(2). Misconduct, as that term has been construed by our courts, is conduct evidencing a willful or wanton disregard for an employer's interest, as demonstrated by the following types of conduct:
(1) deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of his employee;
(2) carelessness or negligence of such degree or recurrence that it manifests equal culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design, or shows an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's interests or of the employee's duties and obligations to his employer.
In re Collingsworth, 17 N.C.App. 340, 343-44, 194 S.E.2d 210, 212-13 (1973); see also Intercraft Industries Corp. v. Morrison, supra; In re Cantrell, 44 N.C.App. 718, 263 S.E.2d 1 (1980).
[4] Mere inefficiency or unsatisfactory job performance does not amount to misconduct. In re Kidde & Co. v. Bradshaw, 56 N.C.App. 718, 289 S.E.2d 571 (1982). Nor does violation of a work rule constitute misconduct if the evidence shows that the employee's actions were reasonable and taken with good cause, good cause being that deemed by reasonable men and women valid
and not indicative of an unwillingness to work. Intercraft Industries Corp.
v. Morrison, supra.

posted Dec 5, 2000 08:27 AM [EST]