should i or do i have a case to sue for three months wages ?

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should i or do i have a case to sue for three months wages ?

I was a private care giver for three months I was sexually harassed daily by vulgar comments surrounded by herion used drug needles in every room with no caps on from him and his son plus his sons friends drug use. I was never paid for the three months I was working there as a live in care giver on call 24 hrs a day plus living with so much chaos and the hardship ive gone and still going through.I need someones help, legal help ,can someone please help me and listen, listen to my story and give me some advice

Asked on October 19, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

Of course you may sue. If you performed work for someone that they wanted or asked you to do, they are required to pay you for it. Under the labor laws (such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA), an hourly employee must be paid for all hours they work, plus overtime when you work more than 40 hours in a week. (You are not paid when "on call" if not actually working.) And you must be paid at least minimum wage, which in CA was $11.00 per hour. And under the basic principals of contract law, if there was an agreement that you would work for someone for $X per hour, and you performed the work, they in turn are contractually obligated to pay as agreed (i.e. $X/hour for all hours worked). Furthermore, under the principal of "unjust enrichment," the law does not allow someone to accept services from you which they know or reasonably should have known you were doing only for pay without in fact paying you for them, since to allow them to accept paid services without paying is to "unjustly"--or unfairly and wrongfully--"enrich," or benefit, them. So there are three separate grounds to sue. 
There could be a lot of money at stake. Even if we ignore overtime, if you actually worked 40 hours per week, you'd be owed (at minimum wage) at least 40 x $11/hour or $440/week. For three months, that would be 12 weeks x $440/week or $5,280. And if you worked more hours than that, you'd also be entitled to overtime. To continue with this example, if you worked 40 regular and 20 overtime hours per seek, your weekly pay would have been at least $770/week, or $8,470 for 12 weeks or 3 months. And in some circumstances, you may be entitled to attorneys fees for a labor law violation. You may wish to consult with an attorney about bringing a lawsuit. Good luck.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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