Missouri Employment Contracts Legal Questions

Unless you have a contract which limits your employer's right to fire you, or you are being discriminated against in violation of some statute (e.g. based on your race, religion, gender, etc.) you can be fired at any time with or without cause.  There may have been an issue about  her authority to fire you when the husband didn't want you fired, but it appears that he has now acquiesced in your termination. ... Read More

I'm not an expert on unemployment law, especially in MO, but it would seem to me that,while being "forced" to retire could be considered firing, refusing to submit an application requested by your employer could be considered cause for firing.  Again, not familiar with MO law, but in NY you can't get unemployment benefits if you are fired for cause. ... Read More

Assuming that the non-compete is held to be enforceable there is no reason of which I am aware that it would not be enforced in Canada.  Although non-competes are more likely to be enforced the more narrowly they are drawn (i.e. a provision barring a former employee from competing for 4 months within a mile of his former employer is more likely to be enforced than one barring the employee from competing for 4 years anywhere within 200 miles) but, under certain circumstances, a worldwide non-compete might be enforced.... Read More

In a strange way, this is probably an offer that, following acceptance, would lead to the formation of a valid contract. The obvious issue with the offer is that a material term is left to the discretion of one of the parties. Normally, a contract would fail if a material term were indefinite and there were no means of resolving it. But this "indefiniteness" can be unilaterally resolved by the employer.... Read More

It is unlikely that you can force the company to hire you.  Unless you already signed a contract with the employer it would be very difficult to get any damages or specific performance.  Missouri is an at-will-employment state.  This means that absent a written employment contract, you can be terminated without reason, barring a few exceptions.  You should speak with a local employment law attorney to determine if your matter fall within any of the exceptions to the rule. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

The simple answer is probably yes, but there may be complicating factors.  Did you lie about your education level when applying for the job?  Assuming you did not, did you have a contract specifying the reasons why you could be fired?  In some cases an employee manual might constitute such a contract, if it provides, for example, that employees will only be fired for good cause.  Absent such a contract, however, in most states you were what is known as "an employee at will", and could be terminated for virtually any reason that is not specifically protected by statute.  Some examples of statutory protections include being fired based on gender, religion, nationality, disability, and age.  Some jurisdictions also provide protections against being fired based on sexual orientation, and many jurisdictions protect people against retaliation for filing complaints against their employer or 'whistle blowing" about an employer's infraction, or from being fired because of their political beliefs or speech.  While an employer can fire an employee at will for not having enough education for the position, if you can show that this was a pretext, and that you were actually fired for some improper reason, you may have a claim.  The fact that you worked for this employer for several years and that your performance was presumably satisfactory may be evidence that the the reason you were given for your discharge is not the real one. ... Read More