I move to CA from out of state to work for him. After a few weeks of employment, I was fired. He did not pay for my relocation expenses, but offered to reimburse for my to and from airfare tickets after he fired me. On the day he fired me, we discussed the terms of contract. Before I sign the contract, I asked about the sign on bonus that he promised orally (1 on 1) on the first week of employment to buy a car. I did not buy a car but since he said treat $$$ as sign on bonus, I believe I was entitled to it. At first, he said:"where is the evidence?" Then, he said you did not buy a car and bla bla. I responded that he said it was sign on bonus. After a few more argument, he fired me.
How can I prove of his oral promise to give sign on bonus? Do I have a case? I feel betrayed and bitter.
To Attorney Carper: I doubt and don't know that my previous employer gave similar promise to co-workers since all co-workers have owned a car and I was the only out of state employee who doesn't have a car. I believe it's discretionary of the ex-boss. I did tell my family only about the bonus.
To Attorney Chen and Gavin: Money is not the main purpose for suing my ex-employer, rather that I would want him to be punished in some ways. But, when it comes to hiring attorney, we have to analyze the cost and benefit. If I do win only under Labor Code section 970-972, I only get double damage which amount to as little as a few hundreds to no more than a few thousands dollar. Also, money is an issue to me and I am moving back to my original state next month. Will I have to fly back and forth to CA to attend hearings and etc? Do you think the benefit outweigh the cost of hiring attorney or I would be better off reporting him to Labor commissioner?
Thank you all for your helpful advice.
There is a plethora of employment issues mentioned in your question, but as for you, it sounds like you have a pretty good claim under California Labor Code sections 970-972, which provides:
"970. No person, or agent or officer thereof, directly or
indirectly, shall influence, persuade, or engage any person to change
from one place to another in this State or from any place outside to
any place within the State, or from any place within the State to
any place outside, for the purpose of working in any branch of labor,
through or by means of knowingly false representations, whether
spoken, written, or advertised in printed form, concerning either:
(a) The kind, character, or existence of such work;
(b) The length of time such work will last, or the compensation
therefor;
(c) The sanitary or housing conditions relating to or surrounding
the work;
(d) The existence or nonexistence of any strike, lockout, or other
labor dispute affecting it and pending between the proposed employer
and the persons then or last engaged in the performance of the labor
for which the employee is sought.
971. Any person, or agent or officer thereof, who violates Section
970 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than
fifty dollars ($50) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or
imprisonment for not more than six months or both.
... continuing on, Labor Code section 972 provides:
972. In addition to such criminal penalty, any person, or agent or
officer thereof who violates any provision of Section 970 is liable
to the party aggrieved, in a civil action, for double damages
resulting from such misrepresentations. Such civil action may be
brought by an aggrieved person or his assigns or successors in
interest, without first establishing any criminal liability."
In addition to the Labor Code protections, you may have additional remedies in tort and contract. You might be entitled to damages for "detrimental reliance" resulting from your reasonable reliance on the ex-boss's representations.
Your attorney will be able to formulate the best strategy.
As far as proving this claim for breach of (oral) contract goes, you may be able to offer evidence in the form of co-workers' testimony. To your knowledge, did any of your co-workers have a similar promise from the employer for a sign-on bonus? If so, did he/she deliver on the promise? Even if your former co-workers are hesitant to testify against their employer, you can subpoena them either in a labor commissioner hearing or superior court trial and compel them to testify under oath. (Incidentally, they would be protected under California law for testifying and their employer would be legally prohibited from taking adverse action against them.) Also, if you told anyone about the promised bonus during your hiring/employment, that could be helpful, too. And of course, even without written evidence, your own testimony can be convincing, especially when you have the truth on your side.
Attorney Chen is exactly right - based on the facts as you've described them, your remedy would be based on Labor Code sections 970-972. Depending on your goals, you may be able to get what you want by hiring an attorney to write a letter to your former employer. If that fails, you would still be entitled to pursue a claim in Superior Court.
You should contact a competent employment law attorney in your local area to determine your best course of action.
In resoponse to your follow-up questions:
You are better off hiring an attorney than going to the Labor Commissioner. Most employment attorneys handling Labor Code section 970 cases will take a contingency fee. The only time you will need to come back to California would be for a mediation, deposition or trial. However, chances are the case will settle well before the necessity of having to attend a mediation, deposition or trial.
