Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I was working for a private household as a caregiver and chef, for over 9 months, I begged him to please pay me on the books and went as far as contacting his accountant in Jan 2010 to see if she could persuade him to get legal with payroll. He procrastinated with lame excuses. We had a verbal agreement that he would give me 30 days notice before ending my job. On April 20th 2010 he told me that he was going to be putting his wife in a ALZ. home. I said ok so my last day will be May 20th? His reply was yes, we don't think a bed will come available before that, and we are going to be very busy until then...my question:

I was let go on 5-10-10, is he responsible for the 10 days I would have been paid for in our verbal agreement? It equals 39 hours total.

I also have over 33 hours of unpaid over time I never billed him for, can I collect that also?


Asked on 5/16/10, 9:43 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

The general rule in California is that absent a written employment contract, employees are considered at will employees. That means you can be terminated at any time. You are entitled to wages for the period you actually worked, but not severance pay or any other pay. Oral contracts are recognized in employment law, but they are so hard to prove and are subject to dispute in litigation.

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Answered on 5/21/10, 8:34 pm


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