The Law at Work: The consequences of not paying an employee who resigns all wages due within 72 hours
When an at-will employee resigns without notice, California law gives employers 72 hours from receiving the resignation to pay all unpaid wages—including unused vacation time—and places penalties on employers for failing to do so. In a recent decision, the California Court of Appeal hit a Bay Area law firm with a $2,250 waiting time penalty, $86,160 in attorney’s fees and additional fees for time spent on appeal after a clerical error in an employee’s final paycheck led to the firm missing the 72-hour deadline and failing to correct immediately when it learned of it. In his latest Law at Work column in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Shareholder Dan Eaton explores the case and the four important lessons this ruling has for employers.
Click here to read the column.