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do they owe me/

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Janeen

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? arizona

Hi, I am a caregiver for the elderly, private sector, last Dec. I was hired by the niece of the elder folks, she introduced herself as their niece and legal guardian for their assets, the job was to care for the aunt, a 94 year old stroke victim, and to tolerate her onry controlling uncle, a 94 year old suffers from dementia, both legally blind. All was wonderful, he had praised me as the best thing that ever happened to his wife, 6 months later the niece calls me and says, my uncle decided he doesn't like you anymore, and gave me 3 months to replace you, but I already replace you, let me assure you that you are not being fired, just taking a break, and i am going to continue paying you for those 3 months, (she also did payroll, thru their personal bank acct).
three hours later the niece calls again asking if I want to care for her mother 2 days a week, when I showed up, she had an excuse for not leaving. but for sure next week, never happened. I received 4 checks, then stop, the last one was changed from 800.00 to 200.00 without the proper initials, when I asked her about this she replied i don't have to pay you, and just send that one check back to me. I told her I had passed up some opportunities because of what she had promised and she seemed not to care. Recently I applied for UI and was accepted, and received 2 checks, then stopped because the uncle signed a paper saying he personally fired me, so that is up in the air. Now I figured what was owed to me by the niece, turns out to be a total of $2300.00. What are my rights, this total includes days i didn't work for the niece, 2 1/2 months of pay, and misc .. Can the uncle stop my UI? Do i have any rights in this matter. Every thing was by word of mouth, not even a application, Help.
 


Beth3

Senior Member
If you are owed WAGES (payment for time actually worked), contact your State's Department of Labor and file a complaint. If you believe you are owed SEVERANCE (or whatever you want to call the three months of salary continuation), then call an attorney - it's a civil matter and rests on whether her statement to you constituted an oral contract. You might have a claim for detrimental reliance but only an attorney can advise you.

Given the amount of money you are owed, you can forgoe the attorney if you wish and pursue this on your own in small claims court and see what happens. That will be a LOT less costly than hiring an attorney but that's up to you.

As to whether the uncle can stop your UC payments, the answer is no. UC benefits are administered exclusively by the State. Now the State may suspend payments if an eligibility issue is raised by the employer but everything regarding UC benefits is regulated by your State's UC Division.

I hope you're looking for work elsewhere. Obviously you shouldn't return to work for this family.
 

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