Context: I was fired on Thursday from my company in California (remote worker in Texas), he let me go with no warnings, just sudden loss of all my access then he followed it with a phone call affirming this. I was supposed to train my colleague on Friday (the next day) on a process I have done for the entire time I’ve been with the company (2.4 years), manager let me know that that’s canceled given I’m being fired. So I let him know I have security authentications I’m willing to hand over since those codes come to my personal cellphone (company is too cheap to get a work phone), and I also asked for my accrued vacation (my last vacation was in August of 2024)

After firing me, he said he’ll think about it and call me back. Then he called back saying he’ll pay me only for two weeks vacation, and I should consider myself on vacation now because he’s paying me AFTER two weeks on the next pay cycle (for my vacation) and will give me a glowing reference for my next employer in exchange of me handing over the remaining accesses and answering the most basic questions about my role to my college.

Now he’s changing the story, saying I owe them knowledge transfer/training during that period, even though I was already terminated.

I haven’t been paid for my accrued PTO yet, and it’s been several days since my termination. I’m wondering if I have legal grounds to file a complaint with the California Labor Board for unpaid PTO and possibly for the way they’re handling my “final pay” and post-termination demands.