I was working a temp contract through an agency. My contract included a cover page that said I had to give two week notice. It wasn't part of the contract, which said that either I or the client could terminate with or without notice. When I decided to quit, it was the actual contract that I reviewed to see if I needed to give notice. I left without giving notice. The agency said the company is not paying them so they are not paying me. They owe me two weeks pay. There is nothing in the contract that states they could hold my pay. I was not 1099, I was a temp employee for the agency. Can I file a complaint with the EDD even as a contract employee?

Thanks

andrewea: Can I file a complaint with the EDD even as a contract employee?

Yes, but your claim for unpaid wages should be addressed to the DLSE http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageClaim.htm

Barry,
The commissioner said that if I was allowed to work, I must get paid. This case will go for a final hearing since the agent refused to pay the penalities. Since I was a contracter it was mentioned that the client where I was working could be brought in as a second party to this. What does that mean? I had agreed to 1/2 the penality amount which the agent refused, he was willing to pay only about 1/5th the accumulated penality. Are there any additional penalities I can get beyond the 30 days pay?

Thanks

I had a hearing yesterday and since the client refuses to sign my timesheet, the agency claims they cannot verify my hours and therefore they have just cause for withholding my pay.

Question: How can I find case law pertaining to temporary employee timesheet disputes?

Because I worked offsite and my timesheet was handwritten and required a supervisor signature (which the client refused because I did not give two week notice) there is no way of verifying my time.

Surely this is not the first case like this.

What did the hearing officer say?

He won't officially rule for 20-30 days but he did say he wasn't sure that I proved the number of hours worked.

Here is the situation - At 2:00 I notified the client and agency that I was immediately terminating, by email and verbally to the Client Manager. I reviewed my projects with the clients employee. I emailed my timesheet to the Client Manager. At 3:00 I hand carried my timesheet for the week to the Client Manager for signing but he was not at his desk. I waited 25 min and he did not return, so i faxed a copy, unsigned to the agency and left a copy on the managers desk with a note that he sign it and fax it to the agency. I had to leave. The Client Manager refused to sign the timesheet.

The Commissioner questioned the fact that I don't have proof of the hours worked. I have proof that I was at the Clients workplace when I faxed the timesheet. The Client still refuses to sign the timesheet and the agent refuses to pay without signature. So here I am 5 months later. The agent has agreed to pay the original hours claimed but not penalities or interest.

What is the "proof" you have that you worked other than the time sheet? Witnesses you can call to testify?

BTW, you do know that leaving in the middle of the day without notice is not going to bode well for future references, right? :eek:

I could have summoned witnesses that would have stated I was there, but accepted an email from the client manager who attached the time sheet of the "last week" of work. Since he has refused to sign it because I did not give two weeks notice, the agency is claiming they cannot validate the hours and therefore had good cause not to pay me, and therefore claims they should not be assessed interest and penalities. My last week was almost 6 months ago and I have not to date recieved my pay.

If this situation stands with the Commissioner then it seems that any client can refuse to sign a timesheet and the agent will not have to pay the worker. All workers in this situation will have to file claims and bring in witnesses to prove the hours they worked.

It should not be up to the employee to prove the hours worked if they are required to complete a manual timesheet and cannot force a client to sign it. Seems like they will need to provide an automated way of keeping track of time.

I do understand that what I did was totally unprofessional, however, my contract stated that EITHER party could terminate with or without notice. In the IT world, it is not unusual for the employee or consultant to be let go upon serving a two week notice, so I decided not to risk being out of work for two weeks. As you can see, this backfired anyway.

Your employer has an affirmative duty to collect and maintain accurate records of your working hours. If, for whatever reason, your employer questioned your time sheet, your employer should have discussed this matter with you.

It is a very weak argument for your employer to base its nonpayment of your wages on your client manager's failure to sign your time card. Based on the information you posted here, I would not be the least bit surprised if the hearing officer ruled in your favor on the LC 203, waiting-time, penalty issue. If he/she does not, you can always appeal the decision in what is referred to in legal parlance as a trial de novo in Superior Court.