Lawyers only , please?

i quit my job recently to work for a better company. i work in the construction trades as a tradesmen. i needed to quit my job abruptly so that the company that i was going to work for wouldnt fill the job that i was applying for. now, the company that i used to work for is refusing to pay me for the vacation pay that i have coming saying that i didnt give them 2 weeks notice , so therefore, they dont have to pay me for that vacation pay. now in the company manual it states that they would like to have at least 1 week notice upon terminating your employment there and it doesnt say anything about holding back any pay if you dont comply. i didnt give them any notice that i was quitting. i went there to pick up some of my tools and left immediately. they owe me about $3000.00 for the vacation days that i have coming . if it wasnt a significant amount i really wouldnt care but 3 grand is alot of money for me. can they do what they are doing legally?

You need to contact an employment law attorney in your state, because the answer is... depends.

In some cases, vacation pay is not payable to you at all upon termination. Unused sick pay often is. Now, some companies these days also don't distinguish between vacation and sick pay, so you might have a claim against them.

I would suggest that you call your local or state bar association and ask for a labor or employment law attorney for consultation.

janie has a point....

A lot depends on where you live and work. But in general, in most jurisdictions I'm aware of, vacation pay is earned and payable if you leave part way through a year. Notice of leaving is not, that I'm aware of, ever an issue. Employees generally do not have a requirement to give notice, it is just a courtesy.

So you earned it, the money is yours. Contact the local labor board/employment standards office, they will help you retrieve it.

Incidentally, though, in a situation (like construction) where you often change jobs frequently, burning bridges like you have is a really bad idea which may come back to haunt you later.

In most states vacation pay kicks in after one year, so if you were there less than a year you will not get it. If you have proof you were suppose to get vacation pay then take it to the labor board--but they will need proof to look into it (like your contract)

what kind of lawyer would be chillin on yahoo answers?