I was a live-in nanny in the home of a gay couple from 1/14/2013 to 5/23/2013 until I was fired because they surprisingly plan on sending their son to nursery school. When I was hired, I was told that the job would last until the 3 year old boy turned 6 because his December birthday missed the cut-off date for him to start kindergarten when he was 5 in Newburgh, NY. One month prior to the firing I was feeling uneasy at my job and spoke to my bosses. I was assured not to worry because my position was safe which made me feel more secure. Without any prior warning or incident, I was then fired and was told about an "exit plan". I was upset by this betrayal and told them so. One father took it as a threat and called the cops to have me removed. The other father did not agree that I was being threatening and told the police so when they arrived. I was still asked to leave the house and I have literally been homeless since while my belongings are still in the room I was given.

What recourse(s) do I have in this situation? Is this considered an illegal eviction since I wasn't paying rent? Can I file a suit for lost wages being that I was given a 2 week notice?

Thank you for taking the time to read my situation. I do hope you can help me.

-Billy

ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

However, unless you signed a contract that stated your services would be needed until the child turned 6, I don't see anything illegal. Your living quarters were a condition of employment, so this would not be considered an eviction.

I see no suit without a contract. That they gave you 2 weeks notice (severance?) was not required on their part.

Do you mean lost wages because you weren't given 2 weeks notice? The answer to that part is no. There are no laws about giving notice. You had no 'right to work,' and could be fired without warning. Most jobs are this way, despite what many people think.

The housing part is more complicated. From what I can gather about NY law, it depends on what the contract said about your work in lieu of rent. If it doesn't say anything, or you didn't have one, then you can be let go summarily just as anyone can be terminated from any job. If it did talk about living quarters in exchange for work, then you have a case against them for a typical tenant agreement, and they have to give you 30 days notice to leave.
Under no circumstances can they hold your possessions. If the police escorted you away, the police can escort you back to get them. We don't know the exact story about your outburst and who felt it was threatening or not. I don't know what you mean about exit plan, but assume that one man told you that you should have had a place to go back to if fired.
My answer isn't etched in stone, and you will find that no matter where you search online, I doubt that you will find clear cut answers. Sorry.

ScottGem: location is Newburg NY.

I’m going to be blunt - how is the fact that this is a gay couple pertinent? I do hope it’s by means of explanation and not for some other purpose.

At any rate, back to the question - no, it’s not an illegal eviction in NY. You were an employee living at the residence at part of your employment, not a “simple” eviction.

Was there a written employment contract? Was there a provision for a two week notice? This sounds like a very bad parting of the ways after a successful employer/employee relationship. Why? What exactly happened that the Police were called and responded? Your employers ordered you out and the Police agreed, even though this appears to have settled down to a civil and not a criminal (threats) matter.

What you can do legally is going to depend on why you were terminated. What grounds did they give you? You appear to have been an at will employee which, in NY, means you can be fired at any time for anything - including if they suddenly don’t like the color of your eyes. Can they keep your belongings? No. Everything you own is still in their residence? They refused to pay you for your final week(s) of employment? Something else?

You are currently in a shelter without your clothing and belongings? Something else?

Once again, posted twice - and I answered the other thread which I saw first. {Threads Merged}

"I'm going to be blunt - how is the fact that this is a gay couple pertinent? I do hope it's by means of explanation and not for some other purpose.

At any rate, back to the question - no, it's not an illegal eviction in NY. You were an employee living at the residence at part of your employment, not a “simple” eviction.

Was there a written employment contract? Was there a provision for a two week notice? This sounds like a very bad parting of the ways after a successful employer/employee relationship. Why? What exactly happened that the Police were called and responded? Your employers ordered you out and the Police agreed, even though this appears to have settled down to a civil and not a criminal (threats) matter.

What you can do legally is going to depend on why you were terminated. What grounds did they give you? You appear to have been an at will employee which, in NY, means you can be fired at any time for anything - including if they suddenly don't like the color of your eyes. Can they keep your belongings? No. Everything you own is still in their residence? They refused to pay you for your final week(s) of employment? Something else?"

Citing that they were gay was to clarify the latter part of situation, not to condemn them in anyway. No there was nothing in writing.

The grounds they vaguely gave were that I wasn't bonding with the 9 year old daughter whom I see for only about 1 hour and 30 minutes total. In that time she gets herself ready for in the morning and the rest of the time, she is getting her afternoon snack/doing homework. I take them both out when she's done. She even invited me to her flute recital earlier that week that I was fired. That doesn't sound like a lack of bonding, does it? The little girl has now gone through 5 nannies in 3.5 years. The fathers told me when I first started that the 9 year old was difficult due to the tantrums she throws. They never told me that they backhandedly reward her negative behaviour hence the lack control or incentive for her to stop her nasty attitude. I've been teaching 12 years and a nanny for 3 years so I think I know my job and how to get the best results. What's infuriating is that all the adults were on the same page AND I was assured and reassured that I will not lose my job. The police were called because when they fired me on a Thursday evening to what I though was a productive day, I told the one father doing the firing that how, when, and why I was getting fired was bull. Because I stood up and walked 7 feet AWAY from them, he took it as I was threatening him. After I told the cops my side, and the other father backed up my story, they said the first father was clearly out of line but again, since its his house, he can do pretty much as he sees fit.

I don't want to come across as a whiny child but this situation could have been handled better on their part and reacted better on mine. Human decency would dictate you don't treat the person who gives every ounce of energy he has to watch & teach YOUR kids like he was an unwanted pet.

Unfortunately this is not a "how would/should decent people act" thread, but it is a legal thread.

Whether I think you were bonding is immaterial - it's what your employers thought that matters. You knew this was a difficult situation at some point - were you thinking of leaving?

You can always argue in Small Claims Court that they broke oral contract - if they did. I find a guarantee of employment no matter what is unreasonable, and I think the Court would feel the same.

And your belongings are where - ?

You didn't answer the prime question here. Did you have a written contract?

As Judy said, what is fair and what is legal do not always go hand in hand. Unless a contract was violated, I see no legal grounds for a suit.

I did answer the question, Scott, but no there was nothing in writing. I also know that what's legal isn't always fair Judy. It really screwed up massive parts of my life right is all I'm saying.

As for my belongings, they're still there but I have no place to put them once I go back to retrieve them.

The longer your belongings are "there" the more difficult it will be to retrieve them, and at some point they could be considered abandoned. I would find somewhere/someplace/somehow to store them.

Are you in a shelter? Somewhere else?

The problem here is that we can all sympathize with you but this is a legal thread and that's the "angle" we are discussing.

Go to Small Claims Court - file against the couple. I just don't know if they hired and employed you based on how you interacted with a child (or children) and they were not happy with the result (they don't think you were bonding) that you have grounds to collect salary - and that includes notice. I very much doubt it

Should they have been more civilized? Certainly. Did one of them overreact? For that matter, did you? I run a business. I've had to let people go. Some got combative. Some did not. There's a thin line between expressing yourself and threatening people. But that's not the argument here.

I'd get my belongings out of there.

How long have you been unemployed? I'm sorry if you posted it, but I don't recall and I'm on a laptop, rushed.

What about Unemployment Insurance? Right now the system is "employee" friendly (due to the high unemployment) and your argument about the child's history and the unreasonableness of it could do you some good, carry some weight.

Sorry if I missed your saying if you had a contract. I also missed your location.

But as I said, without a written contract, you have almost no grounds to sue. It doesn't cost much to file in Small Claims and you may get a settlement out of it.

Did you ever sign contract with them? The labor law protect employees, but wothout contract, you can't be referred to as an employee.
Consult DOL, and they will explain it to you.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/layoffs.htm

Did you ever sign contract with them? The labor law protect employees, but wothout contract, you can't be refered to as an employee.
Consult DOL, and they will explain it to you.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/layoffs.htm

Please read the entire thread before answering. The poster has stated several times that no contract was signed.

"Did you ever sign contract with them? The labor law protect employees, but wothout contract, you can't be refered to as an employee.
Consult DOL, and they will explain it to you."


Did you actually read the source you posted? It covers 100 or more employees. Were there 99 other nannies in the household (I wonder)?