Giving Notice

I live and work in California for a company based in North Carolina.

I will be leaving my employment voluntarily at the end of May 2005. I want the termination of my employment to be amicable and I also want to give my company as much time as possible to handle the transition.

If I give a months notice, does my employer have the right to terminate me immediately without pay, or are the required to continue to pay me through the end of the month. Are there any protections for the employee who has given adequate notice.

There are no different protections for an employee who gives 6 months notice, one month notice or no notice at all. The protections are the same. And that is, you can't be fired for your race, religion, sex or other protected status. But the company is under no legal obligation to keep you around one more day the minute you turn in your resignation. Just as you are not legally obligated to give notice.

It's the correct way to handle the situation, NOT the legal way.

If I give a months notice, does my employer have the right to terminate me immediately without pay, or are the required to continue to pay me through the end of the month.

Click to expand...

In addition to BB's response, in CA, if you do give notice and the employer terminates you prior to the end of your "notice period," you can file for and receive unemployment benefits, if you are otherwise eligible. Even though someone who resigns voluntarily is typically ineligible for UE benefits, CA has this rule that says if you are willing to work and the company terminates you prior to your resignation date, the employer becomes the "moving party" and you regain eligility for UE benefits.

Also, if you are let go prior to date that you said you would work too, your employer must pay you all wages do up to that date immediately, and must pay you for any accrued and unused vacation time.

Just a clarification:

If your employer accepts your resignation early (which he is legally entitled to do) while he will owe you for all the time you actually work, he does not owe you for one minute past the last day you ACTUALLY WORK, regardless of whether you were willing to work the time or not.

In other words, if on January 15 you tell him that you are going to leave on January 31 (or February 28, or May 13), and he tells you to leave immediately, he has to pay you through January 15. He does NOT have to pay you through January 31 (or February 28, or May 13).

Yeah, what cbg said -- I guess I could have been a BIT clearer...

To CB and Div