Breach of Contract

[NeedHelp80]

What is the name of your state? ca
A question...I agreed to be hired on with my old company for the stipulation to work for them for one year (ending December 28, 2007). It is an hourly wage job not salaried. My boss let me know last Friday that this coming Friday (Sept. 28) would be my last day because he can't afford me anymore. He's been paying out of pocket for my wages for too long now.
Because we signed a contract, is he obligated to pay me for the remaining months that I won't be working there? Or can he use it as a loophole and say, well we don't have any jobs for you to work at right now, so I just dont have to give you any hours? (it's for an alarm company-that's why the no work situation).
Please let me know any information! i'd like to know before I take further action, if I can.

 

[seniorjudge]

No one knows the answers to your questions because we have not read your contract.

If you think you are owed something by this person who sacrificed their own money to make sure you had a job as long as you did, then sue in small claims court.

But, from your post, it sounds like he already gave you all the money he had.

 

[NeedHelp80]

Sorry, I thought I was pretty clear on what happened. My boss (the one who's ending the contract) lured me away from my previous job on the stipulation that I work for him for one year at X amount of dollars. The contract isn't anything really, it's a one page, bulleted document stating what I would be making, when my contract would end (december 28, 2007) and that I wouldn't compete in the same business or take any of his employees with me when I was done working for him in Dec.
He decided that now, in september, that he can't afford me anymore. He's basically negating his contract with me where I was promised a job until Dec. 28th, 2007 with him. He wasn't paying me out of pocket in good faith, he's saying that his company isn't turning a good profit this year so he's had to reach into his personal money (since he owns the company) to pay me. He doesn't want to do that anymore, so instead of upholding his end of his contract he is letting me go.
The contract looks like this:
(company letterhead)
1. This is for one year of work at Company X, employment will end December 28, 2007.
2. The job to be performed is xxxxxx.
3. The signed employee will not compete in *Alarms/Security Systems*.
4. The signed employee will not take any employees from Company X to work for his own
company.
signature employee signature owner

That's basically what the contract looks like and says. He hasn't paid me what is owed to me. I'm still owed payment for future work that was agreed upon until the contract date.