Former Employer Refuses to Pay Owed Wages

[lorraine]

My question involves employment and labor law for the state of: California

Admittedly, I quit my job quite abruptly (for health reasons), but now my former boss refuses to pay me roughly 3 weeks worth of wages from before I quit UNLESS I go in (on a day and at a time HE choses) and train his next employee. It has already been a week, but he has absolutely no time line as to when he would like me to go in, and he is also unwilling to pay for my time training his next employee.

I would really like to avoid returning to his office, or ever speaking to him again, as he was a terrible employer, but filing a claim with the Department of Labor and Wages seems too complicated and will take a very long time; and I don't have a car or access to one (you have to file in person, I believe).

Any advice would be much appreciated! I'm really desperate.

[cbg]

He cannot legally refuse to pay you or make payment conditional on your coming in to train the new person. However, if you are unwilling to file with the DLSE (or alternately to find a lawyer and sue him for it, which will also be time-consuming) I don't know what to tell you. It is possible to file your wage claim by mail.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageCLaim.htm