Legal Question in Employment Law in California

In 2009 i was laid off from a manufacturing company in California. The company was filing bankruptcy and failed to pay employees for three weeks worth of pay owed and paid time off that was owed as well. Now its march of 2010 and i received a notice from attorneys representing the company that they were in the winding up process of the bankruptcy procedures. They requested that I send in a claim in order to participate in the trail that would dispurse remaining assets to the companies remaining creditors (employees). My question is, since i am representing myself, are there any back pay penilties that i qualify for or other things of that sort and where can i reference those regulations from if so? Also i was curious how the defending party (bankrupt company) would know the amount of hours each employee worked if they did not have time sheets? I know this information due to contacting the companies representitives in a documented call and they said all they have is a list of employees that qualify for payment and i was one of them. If i could get a section reference in the labor laws for more information concerning my issue it would be greatly appreciated and thanks for taking the time to review my issues. :)

Asked on 3/30/10, 6:20 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Robert Worth Robert J. Worth , Professional Law Corporation

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While employees that are not fully paid at the time of termination are usually entiled to waiting time penalties where the employer has filed for bankruptcy employee(s) who timely filed creditor claims with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court would arugably be (priority) creditors, while other creditors might not have the same priority. Usually creditors do not recover everything owed to them it a bankruptcy. You may want to consult a bankruptcy attorney about filing a creditor's claims and about your rights. I hope this helps. Bob

Answered on 4/05/10, 11:32 am

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