Legal Question in Employment Law in Louisiana

Re: accrued vacation

"Yes, you have recourse in Louisiana when your employer refuses to pay your accrued vacation. The Louisiana Wage Payment Statute provides that an employer must pay all earned wages (which includes accrued vacation pay) shortly after your termination. If they refuse, they can be liable for penalty wages (up to 90 days of your average daily rate of pay) plus attorneys fees. If you like, I'd be happy to discuss the Louisiana Wage Payment Statute with you futher. Good luck."

Re: accrued vacation

Send a certified letter to the payroll office simply telling them you are owed _____ hours of vacation time and that you want them to pay you. Then if not paid within 3 days, you 'could' be entitled to penalties of 1 day wage for each day they do not pay you if their failure was arbitrary and capricious.....and attorneys fees.

Re: accrued vacation

Dear LawGuru Friend,

Nick is a good lawyer and Nick is right. I would add, however, that before you write that certified letter, you get your hands on a copy of that statute that allows you the penalties that Nick is talking about and comply with it strictly. It's been a while since I read it; but, as I remember it, it requires that you do a little more than simply write a certified letter of demand. If you will send me your address, I will copy the statute and forward it to you. It is found in Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. You can go to Google and type in Louisiana Legislature Web-site and navigate yourself to the Louisiana Laws, and more specifically, to the Louisiana Revised Statutes; and then look at Title 23 (Labor and Workers Comp) and find the statute that says that once you make written demand giving your present address, then if the employer does not pay within, like Nick said, three days, your wages begin to run the same as if you are working, up to a period of about 90 days. Also, if you have to sue to get your money, the employer's got to pay your attorney fees. As I say, it's been a while since I read the statute. However, as I recall it, there is some requirement to send a self-addressed and stamped envelope, something like that. Read the statute and comply with it explicitly. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA