What to do about n employee who didn’t clock in and out is now claiming that she was given no lunch breaks?
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What to do about n employee who didn’t clock in and out is now claiming that she was given no lunch breaks?
Our family business is being sued. The former employee is suing claiming there were no lunch breaks. She was a waiter and failed to clock in and out. The business was doing extremely poorl, and she wasn’t asked to do much. She took every break she could get but failed to punch in via out software. Each employee has a code when used and is confidential. She falsified her paperwork and is undocumented. We had to sell the restaurant and offered her a job on our other location but she refused. Since she is unable to claim unemployment, she sued instead. She’s demanding a pay out of over $15,000 or will sue. Can we counterclaim or neglect her request? We have documents to prove daily activity from orders, orders taken by employee specifically, and time clock punch ins. Unfortunately, restaurant was managed poorly by someone else and time clocks were never corrected or revised.
Asked on January 1, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you are facing a labor claim by a former employee claiming she was not given lunch breaks and wants compensation for such over the years, I suggest that you retain a labor attorney to assist in the defense of the matter.
I would get all of your documents in order like the ones you have mentioned in your question. I would try and contact former employees to show that this person actually took her lunch breaks and to discuss what type of employee she was. I do not see any merit in filing a counter claim against her. She probably does not have much assets and the filing most likely will create more problems for you than good.
I would not neglect her request. It is best to try and nip the matter in the bud for possibly some quick settlement set forth in a written document.
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