I work in a group practice as a dentist. I have worked there for the last nine years. On Jankuary 2009, one of the associates bought the practice from the retiring owner. In February, at a staff meeting, he cut my work hours to 32 from 40 per week. claiming that it was a temporary measure due to the current economy. He mentioned in front of everyone that he appreciated my sacrifice and how sorry he was for that measure.
In June 2009 I was still on 32 hours so I wrote an official letter demanding to lay out what the plans were for me as I was hurting economically speaking, with one son in college and a daughter in Senior year of high school. He again reiterated that he was doing his best to get me back to full time as before and stressed the temporary nature of this measure. During all this time, I kept sacrificing for the practice that I had worked for for nine years and mostly for the patients that knew me and looked for me. He therefore, in addition to cutting back my salary, was making good use of my goodwill with my patient pool.
Last week, I was informed that the Thanksgiving holiday would not be paid to me bacause I was not entitled to those benefits due to the fact that "I was not a full time employee." Ironically I was paid for the Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day holidays!
My question is basically this: Do I have a reasonable cause for legal action against this individual to recover my lost wages and earnings for all the ten months (since the February staff meeting) that I have been sacrificing for him with nothing for me in return, and because of the fact that I kept asking what my status was in relation to my job there and he never gave any indicaitons that he had other plans in mind. I feel that if he had been honest with me from the beginnig, I would have looked for another job instead of staying there and lose all that money which approximately amounts to $25,000. Having worked together for nine years made me beleive in him and to honestly try to help him out. What kind of Lawyer do I need to consult this with? I just want to recouperate what I have lost sacrificing myself and family for a practice that has no more benefits for me.

It may be difficult to prove anything without a written contract, but I certainly would speak with an attorney. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.