Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Resignation notice and pay

Giving notice is nothing more than advising your employer of your intention to resign on a specific date.

Absent a written employment agreement for a specified term, an employer may terminate an employee at any time, including a time during the notice period provided by the employee.

Absent a written agreement or employer policy, employees are entitled to payment ONLY for the actual time worked.

If an employee gives notice and the employer fires the employee prior to the noticed date, the employee would not be entitled to payment beyond the date the employee was fired.

Re: Resignation notice and pay

Under California law, unless there is an agreement to the contrary, employees are "at-will," meaning that either the employer or employee may terminate the employment at any time for no reason and without notice.

An employer is not required to give severance pay unless it has a formal policy of giving severance and abides by that policy. Such plans are governed by federal ERISA law. If, however, the employer promises severance pay to an individual employee in the absence of a formal plan, the state Labor Commissioner has the authority to enforce that promise.

An employer is required only to pay for time worked plus any vacation or other accrued time off at the time of termination ("use it or lose it" policies are illegal in California). If the employee is fired, the employer must pay the employee immediately. If the employee quits, the employer has 72 hours to make payment.

The level of the employee's position in the company makes no difference. However, if there is an employment contract, the contract controls.