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Company policy
Im filing a lawsuit on the restaurant I'm working for an they have been suspending me unlawfully, an before this past friday on the 19th I was forced off of work for almost two weeks... I was suspended on the 6th of April and went back on the 12th but before I could clock in I was suspended to the 19th, so that made it more than seven days from work..
My company policy clearly states that whenever a worker is seperated from employment for an expected duration of 7 days or more the employer shall furnish to such worker a separation notice!!! My question is what do I do if they don't give me my seperation notice
My company policy clearly states that whenever a worker is seperated from employment for an expected duration of 7 days or more the employer shall furnish to such worker a separation notice!!! My question is what do I do if they don't give me my seperation notice
Comments
In Tennessee or Georgia, your employer is legally required to issue you a notice. If your employer does not comply, you should print the template for your state and bring the blank copy to your local unemployment office. The staff there will get a completed form from your past employer so that you can receive your unemployment benefits.
If you live in another state, your employer has no legal requirement to issue you a separation notice. This means you cannot compel them to issue one if they do not wish to do so.
More generally, there is no universal rule that company policies are legally enforceable. That would be a function of what the state is (different rules in each state) and the exact wording of each policy. If you really think that YOUR specific policy must be legally enforceable, then take a copy to a local attorney who will actually have to read the policy and then compare to the actual laws/regulations/rules specific to your state. Yes there are several states which require formal separation notices, but I notice that no one cited what the penalties are for failing to comply. There are actually a fair number of laws with no penalties for violating the law. Or insignificant policies. Say a small fine payable to the state (not the employee).
For example, if you pay a non-terminated employee late in CA, there is a possible (not certain) fine but the fine is paid to the state not the employee. It is a very real law, but it does not do what employees think it does. And CA-DLSE has huge flexibility on when/if that rule is enforced. Employees want to think it is their tool. CA-DLSE knows that tool is written solely for CA-DLSE's use. It is sued solely against employers who repeatedly and deliberately make late payments. Not to reward the employees who were injured.
where are you located? Employers can generally break policy (and I suspect there is some type of caveat at the beginning of the employee handbook that states this)....but some states do have separation notice laws.