Answers Posted By Brian Pastor

Answer to I am a 47 year old male

Employment Severence

1. If you have a written employment contract or agreement with your company, this is the first place to look for termination rights.

2. Most employees in Georgia do not have employment contracts and are deemed "employees at will"

3. Employees at will sometimes find rights to severance if their company has a written employee policy that contains a severance formula, though this is rare.

4. In the absence of a written agreement or other binding contract between the employee and the contract, there generally is no right to severance at all.

5. Employees frequently want to raise race, age or sex discrimination when negotiating severance packages. Make sure you understand the cause of action and that you indeed have good faith evidence (not a mere unsupported subjective belief) that such discrimination has occurred to the extent that you would have at least a colorable claim.

4. It would be impossible for you to really understand the nuances and significant issues that are raised in this reply and an in office consultation with an employment lawyer is likely a good idea. It will cost you anywhere from $150 - $350 to meet with a lawyer for an hour. I would recommend this is money that is well spent.

posted Aug 4, 2005 1:03 PM [EST]

Answer to I am a 47 year old male

Employment Severence

1. If you have a written employment contract or agreement with your company, this is the first place to look for termination rights.

2. Most employees in Georgia do not have employment contracts and are deemed "employees at will"

3. Employees at will sometimes find rights to severance if their company has a written employee policy that contains a severance formula, though this is rare.

4. In the absence of a written agreement or other binding contract between the employee and the contract, there generally is no right to severance at all.

5. Employees frequently want to raise race, age or sex discrimination when negotiating severance packages. Make sure you understand the cause of action and that you indeed have good faith evidence (not a mere unsupported subjective belief) that such discrimination has occurred to the extent that you would have at least a colorable claim.

4. It would be impossible for you to really understand the nuances and significant issues that are raised in this reply and an in office consultation with an employment lawyer is likely a good idea. It will cost you anywhere from $150 - $350 to meet with a lawyer for an hour. I would recommend this is money that is well spent.

posted Aug 4, 2005 1:03 PM [EST]

Answer to at-will employment nullified ?

Contract and At Will

An employee who has signed a "true" employment contract (which in Georgia a chief characteristic is that an "employment contract" has a definite "term" or time period - meaning a beginning and end for example this contract is for 36 months and terminates upon the end of the 36th month)then it is technically not an at-will relationship.

However, the fact you are under a true employment contract does not necessarily determine whether or not you have to pay back your employer money if you quit during the term. An attorney needs to closely examine the precise wording of your contract to see whether or not it is enforceable. Depending upon how it is worded, it may be declared unenforceable by your employer. Reviewing the exact language of your agreement is critical to determining this. You are welcome to call and set up an initial consultation with the Atlanta Lawyer Group - 404-607-7100.

posted Dec 26, 2004 11:38 AM [EST]

Answer to i quit and hours cut from 5.97 to 5.15 is this legal

Hourly Pay

The answer to your question depends on many things, including what state you live in. I practice in Atlanta, Georgia and can only give you perspective from Georgia law which may well not be applicable to you if you live in another state. Generally - most employees are "at will" meaning that you can be fired with or without cause at any time. It also means, your employer can change your compensation package GOING FORWARD, upon notice to you, but cannot change it RETROACTIVELY. In your case, if you are in a state that is as Georgia, your employer cannot change your rate of pay for work you have already completed before the notice of rate change! Contact your state's Department of Labor to discuss your situation with them, or contact a lawyer in your city. Some states have statutes that provide attorney fees in employment wage claims. Good luck
Brian Pastor
www.AtlantaLawyer.com
404-607-7100

posted Nov 4, 2004 09:18 AM [EST]

Answer to Not being paid commisions and there is no precedent for it

Commissions

It sounds like you have good legal case for comepnsation from your employer, but short of gettig a lawyer involved, it may be very unlikely you will receive anything. We would be happy to speak with you further - you can call us at 404-607-7100.
Brian Pastor, Managing Attorney

posted Sep 29, 2004 08:27 AM [EST]

Answer to Company Wide Vaction days for 4th July- legal requirment?

Vacation

A privately owned company is free to set its own policies on vacation and holidays. There is no legal obligation for a private employer to give any paid vacation, paid sick days, paid holidays, or event to give holidays off. July 4th may be a national holiday, but there is no requirement that private companies give employees a paid day for it. You might want to check you company policy manual on holidays and check your hire letter to see whether you have any rights under either of these documents.

posted Jun 9, 2004 2:14 PM [EST]

Answer to GEICO UNFAIR TERMINATION

What exactly is your complaint?

You state that you removed a credit score to make a policy easier to sell and as a result you were suspended and terminated. Your statement is that others were terminated for the same reason. Was removing the credit scores something ordered by superiors? Was it against the policy of the company? I am not sure what exactly you are claiming the company did wrong.
Brian Pastor, Esq.

posted Mar 9, 2004 3:51 PM [EST]

Answer to Employer has not reimbursed expenses for months.

Reimburable Expenses

Your best bet may be to band together and bring a suit for reimbursabl expenses as a group. While they would be required to pay them (as long as your policy manual or other documentation indicates they do reimburse such), you are better off for job security reasons to band together. Nevertheless, since most states are employment-at-will, you may have some risk at bringing the lawsuit. I can only speak for Georgia - no other state. It is impossible to judge the risk of retaliation without having a one on one consultation.

posted Feb 9, 2004 11:27 AM [EST]

Answer to Company taking away earned vacation after employee has enjoyed this vacation time for many years

Vacation Pay

Under Georgia law (another at-will state) an employer is free to change its policies at any time. Any time that has been FULLY vested to date is owed the employee. Thus, it is highly important to CLOSELY read the vacation time policy and determine if it vested all at once on January 1 (or the employee's anniversary) OR does it accumulate pro rata (1/2 week per month for a total of 6 weeks).

posted Jan 23, 2004 08:48 AM [EST]

Answer to Please Help Me :(

Vacation Day Pay

GEORGIA LAW ANSWER - NOT NECESSARILY APPLICABLE TO ANY OTHER STATE. IF YOU RE IN ANOTHER STATE, PLEASE CONTACT A LOCAL LAWYER. Whether you are entitled to your vacation days really depends on the exact wording in your policy manual. Some policy manuals simply say that for a certain number of years of service you get so many vacation days per year. Under this type of policy manual, you would have a very good argument for all of the 'vested' but unused vacation days. You would probably have to take your employer to small claims court to get them or get an attorney to draft a demand letter for you. ON THE OTHER HAND, many policy manuals (and I have drafted many) state that vacation accumulates during the year at the rate of .x days per month (for example, if you got 10 days per year vacation - each month you would accumulate 10/12 of a vacation day) - under this type of commonly found manual, you would be entitled to virtually nothing. So read your manual carefully and then act accordingly. If you are not in Georgia, you should consult with a local lawye. Call your state bar for a referral to an employment lawyer - many bar referral services and for a very small fee, you get a 1/2 hour consultation.

posted Jan 19, 2004 09:02 AM [EST]