Is a two-week letter notice mandatory in California before leaving a job?

 

One of the most common questions that employees have is- Do I need to give two-week notice to my employer? As per the California laws, the employers don’t need to give any notice before leaving a job. However, they have to submit a notice in case if they’re working on contractual terms. Contractual jobs are agreements in which certain terms and conditions are set out for the employees. The employee accepts the contract by agreeing the terms and conditions. So in this case, the employee may be contractually bound to submit a notice. Secondly, the company policies might also require the employee to submit a notice. But it varies from one business to the other. So the employees have to go through the policies to determine what obligations they hold before signing off from a job.

If neither the business policy nor the job contract needs a letter, then the employee is free to leave the job as per their will. Also, they’re not legally bound to give notice as per the California Laws. There’s a reason why this law exists in California. Like many other countries, California works on an at-will basis. This means that both the employer and the employee can work as per their will. In Simple terms, the employer can fire the workers as per their will and on the other hand, the employees can also leave the job without informing their employers.

The employee may not give a two-week notice if- i)  they have been sexually exploited at the workplace, ii)  they’ve been subjected to hostile working conditions iii) mental exploitation and iv) unpaid wages including wages for working overtime and others.

Pros and Cons of Two-weeks letter notice:

Now the question is- should an employer leave their jobs without any prior notice? There are various pros and cons of giving notice to the employer.

Pros/Advantages of a prior two-week notice

As far as the pros are concerned, the higher authorities do appreciate when their employees follow the business etiquette of submitting a two-week0letter notice. It gives them time to find a new replacement for that employee. Though the law may not require prior notice, it leaves a positive impression on the employers and the employees can leave the job on a good note. Being in good terms is important as the former employers can serve as a reference in the future. Besides this, informing the employers about the resignation allows the employees to get all the unpaid wages or overtime wages. As per Section 202 of the Labor Code, subdivision (a), employers need to clear all the unpaid wages of the employees on the last working day.

Cons/Disadvantages of a two-week notice

Certain employers take advantage of the two-week letter notice by firing their employees even before completion of the 2 weeks time. They may also abstain from clearing the unpaid wages. Therefore, employees should be very careful before joining a company. Before writing a notice, it’s important to check how the supervisors and the employers have dealt with the previous working staff. If they’ve treated the employees with respect, then there’s no harm in submitting a notice. However, if the employer doesn’t clear the payments, the employee can file a lawsuit against them.