Final paycheck and notice period

I have given my old employer one week notice period but he wanted me to stay for 4 weeks or buy out that notice period. I have not signed on any contract/offer letter with them them but they are saying company has mentioned it in offer letter. you signature does not matter since if you dont decline or raise concern this means you are accepting it. Just wanted to understand - what my rights are as an employee here to get my final paycheck and relieving.

Rohitsh:

he wanted me to . . . buy out that notice period.

I'm not sure what this might mean.

Rohitsh:

I have not signed on any contract/offer letter with them them but they are saying company has mentioned it in offer letter.

Who are "they"/"them"?  I ask because, in the first sentence of your post, you referred to your "old employer" as "he."  To whom does "company" refer?  When you say, "company has mentioned it," to what does "it" refer?

Rohitsh:

you signature does not matter since if you dont decline or raise concern this means you are accepting it.

Huh?

Rohitsh:

Just wanted to understand - what my rights are as an employee here to get my final paycheck and relieving.

I have no idea what "relieving" means in this sentence.  As far as your final paycheck, California Labor Code Section 202(a) provides as follows:  "If an employee not having a written contract for a definite period quits his or her employment, his or her wages shall become due and payable not later than 72 hours thereafter, unless the employee has given 72 hours previous notice of his or her intention to quit, in which case the employee is entitled to his or her wages at the time of quitting."  In other words, because you gave more than 72 hours of your intent to quit, you're entitled to your final paycheck at the time you finish your last day of work.

Hard to follow your post.

In general, "notice" is a social not a legal requirement.

In general an offer letter that does not specify a specific duration or end date is NOT a contract even if you agree to work there --its an at will arrangement.  Most offer letters are open ended nice letters but are not technically contracts

Rohitsh:

I have given my old employer one week notice period but he wanted me to stay for 4 weeks or buy out that notice period.

I think that the short answer is that you can leave anytime that you want and they can ask for something else.  I believe that giving notice is considered a courtesy and is not likely required by law, so that's probably not an issue.  Not sure what "buy out" means, but if it is a veiled threat that they will not pay you for time worked, that could come back to bite them down the road.  You could always report that to wages and hours folks in your state.

I once gave two weeks notice and they freaked out so badly that they did an exit interview and gave me my final paycheck on the spot.  Never could quite figure out what they were afraid of, but I really didn't care as they paid me for the two weeks. 

If you don't want to "burn bridges" and staying for an extra period of time does you no harm, you could certainly consider staying.

Rohitsh:

I have given my old employer one week notice period but he wanted me to stay for 4 weeks or buy out that notice period.

I think that the short answer is that you can leave anytime that you want and they can ask for something else.  I believe that giving notice is considered a courtesy and is not likely required by law, so that's probably not an issue.  Not sure what "buy out" means, but if it is a veiled threat that they will not pay you for time worked, that could come back to bite them down the road.  You could always report that to wages and hours folks in your state.

I once gave two weeks notice and they freaked out so badly that they did an exit interview and gave me my final paycheck on the spot.  Never could quite figure out what they were afraid of, but I really didn't care as they paid me for the two weeks. 

If you don't want to "burn bridges" and staying for an extra period of time does you no harm, you could certainly consider staying.

Your post is somewhat unclear.  If you mean to say that an offer letter mentioned the employer wants a four-week termination notice, that wouldn't be a binding contract term regardless of whether the employer is arguing "silence equals acceptance/agreement."

You'd check with your state labor dept. about when final paycheck is due when you quit.

Given 72+ hours notice as you state, you are entitled to be paid in full including all your accruend vacation as of your last day on the last day --at least as I read the CA rules--which are on line ...

Thanks for quick reply.

Let me explain my situation more clearly.

I have given my employer one week notice period but they wanted me to stay for 4 weeks or buy out that notice period. I have not signed on any contract with my company. The offer letter they sent me at the time of joining mentioned 4 week notice but i have never signed it. They have never send any reminder to me for signing it. This is what my company response is when i told them that i have not signed any contract and want them to give my final paycheck on time. "The offer letter was sent to you but you conveniently and deliberately choose not to sign it and send it back,  if you had a problem with the offer letter or any other clause in an offer letter then you should have brought it up to everyones attention. But you continued to work and you were even paid your month salary based on the offer letter. We made an assumption from our side by not following up with you to send out an acknowledgement copy of offer letter as we had a professional trust on you based on a fact that you have been part of our company for around three years now and working at a very responsible position, clearly we made a wrong assumption here. "   Just wanted to understand - what my rights are as an employee ... to get my final paycheck.

yes i am in california..

"buy out" means they want me to pay them the salary for the days i am not serving them as per 4 weeks notice.

relieving means:  they are threating about not giving me my last paycheck and marking me as absconded employee so it will impact me in future.

Employees don't "buyout" employers.  Your employer has the meaning of "buyout" reversed.

"Abscond" vs. one-week notice sounds like conflictive nonsense.  Inform prospective employers that you gave a one-week notice.

If they don't give you your last paycheck contact Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Thanks..Last doubt..

does contract get automatically applied if i have never signed it but also never raised any concern about it to them. 

Rohitsh:

does contract get automatically applied

Do you believe that you have an employment contract with this employer?  Why or why not? Does the employer think that you have an employment contract?  Why?  If you had a contract it should likely have had a start date and an end date.  Do you have anything like that in your possession?

that is true..but i will need myfinal paycheck and experience letter from my company right? So i have to do something..Cannot just leave it

Typically "offer letters" do not make a contract, but the details matter, and I don't know exactly what the letter said nor do I know the circumstances surrounding your hire. But the bottom line is this: in most states, including as I recall, CA, the employer cannot deduct anything from the pay you've earned unless (1) it is required by law (e.g. tax withholding, court wage garnishments, etc.) or (2) you expressly consented to that deduction. Thus, even if the offer letter is an employment contract (and you wouldn't necessarily have to sign it for a contract to exist), the employer must still pay you for the work done without deduction. If you didn't consent to the deduction and the employer thinks you somehow owe it for leaving without 4 weeks notice, it must pay you what you earned and sue you for what it thinks you.

Your experience letter/reference letter may be quite negative so I'd not hang my hat on that issue.

The firm is required to pay you as per CA law --stick to the law, you follow it to a T from your side. .  Make no comments.to employer --its not your job to educate employer.

Most firms don't want a departing employee hanging around for 4 weeks too much time to do dubious stuff.

An engagement letter is generally NOT an employment contract --if it guaranteed you employment for a specific time frame  then perhaps  but that is NOT common in private sector.

If you are here on a work visa especially one paid for by employer there may be different issues.