In my employment agreement with the owner of the business which he signed, it states I am entitled to 2 weeks paid vacation. This agreement was signed by both of us on my first day of work. When requesting to take 1 week of this paid vacation time he told me I was not entitled to any vacation until after I had worked there for 12 months. I had been working there for 6 months at the time however, it does not state the 12 month requirement in the employment agreement. After showing him a copy of the agreement he agreed to let me go on vacation as long as I worked extra shifts when I got back to make up for the labor costs that would be lost while I was away. I fulfilled this agreement in the 2 weeks after my vacation, working 2 extra shifts each week.
I soon learned that this employer was intending to let me go when I walked by his office and heard him talking about it. This was later confirmed by another manager as well. This was a big surprise to me as he had never spoken to me about being dissatisfied with my work, he had told me a few months prior that he thought I was doing a good job. I gave my employer notice of my resignation after I learned of his plans so that I would not have a termination on my work history. After working my last 30 days (30 days were required by the employment agreement) I moved out of state to find work. I recieved my last paycheck via direct deposit into my checking account as scheduled on Friday, October 23rd. I paid bills with this paycheck on that day out of my checking account. On Monday, October 26th the paycheck amount was withdrawn from my checking account by my former employer. This caused my checking account to have well over $200 in overdraft fees. When I called my former employer to ask about this he said I was not entitled to my last week of pay because I took a vacation. In researching this further, I found out that employers are allowed to withdraw from their employees banking accounts in the case of an error and it was my fault for giving him my account number. However this was not an error, I was completely entitled to my last week of pay.
Futhermore, I am seeking out new employment in the town I moved to without success. I have gotten to the reference checking stage of hiring with 3 companies only to not get the job because he refuses to return their call or because he is giving a bad reference. I am not certain about the details, all I know is after trying to/getting in touch with him, they dont want to hire me anymore. If he is giving me a bad reference I do not know what he would be saying as he never spoke to me about it during my employment for him. He is also still using my name on his website as a contact person for all the sales. This is now more than a month after my last day there.
I have filed with the DOL in CT however I have not heard from them and they say it could be months before I get a reply. He is making it impossible for me to get a new job. I have applied for jobs that I am overqualified for and the same thing happens. My time working for him was stressful and he was so verbally abusive I had to quit and I am still disturbed by it. It has caused a lot of emotional distress on me. I need some justice, I feel like he is ruining my life. Is there anything I can do?
I soon learned that this employer was intending to let me go when I walked by his office and heard him talking about it. This was later confirmed by another manager as well. This was a big surprise to me as he had never spoken to me about being dissatisfied with my work, he had told me a few months prior that he thought I was doing a good job. I gave my employer notice of my resignation after I learned of his plans so that I would not have a termination on my work history. After working my last 30 days (30 days were required by the employment agreement) I moved out of state to find work. I recieved my last paycheck via direct deposit into my checking account as scheduled on Friday, October 23rd. I paid bills with this paycheck on that day out of my checking account. On Monday, October 26th the paycheck amount was withdrawn from my checking account by my former employer. This caused my checking account to have well over $200 in overdraft fees. When I called my former employer to ask about this he said I was not entitled to my last week of pay because I took a vacation. In researching this further, I found out that employers are allowed to withdraw from their employees banking accounts in the case of an error and it was my fault for giving him my account number. However this was not an error, I was completely entitled to my last week of pay.
Futhermore, I am seeking out new employment in the town I moved to without success. I have gotten to the reference checking stage of hiring with 3 companies only to not get the job because he refuses to return their call or because he is giving a bad reference. I am not certain about the details, all I know is after trying to/getting in touch with him, they dont want to hire me anymore. If he is giving me a bad reference I do not know what he would be saying as he never spoke to me about it during my employment for him. He is also still using my name on his website as a contact person for all the sales. This is now more than a month after my last day there.
I have filed with the DOL in CT however I have not heard from them and they say it could be months before I get a reply. He is making it impossible for me to get a new job. I have applied for jobs that I am overqualified for and the same thing happens. My time working for him was stressful and he was so verbally abusive I had to quit and I am still disturbed by it. It has caused a lot of emotional distress on me. I need some justice, I feel like he is ruining my life. Is there anything I can do?
