North Carolina Employment Contracts Legal Questions

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be fired at any time for any reason. If discrimination motivates a termination, it is unlawful only if the basis is; race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disabiliyt or age 40 or older.  There is no legal requirement that you agree with a performance review.  You can refuse to sign the review, but they may tell you to sign or you will be fired which is lawful.  I generally recommend that employees do not sign employer documents that contain false information unless the form indicates you are not agreeing with the contents or they add language like "I do not agree" with their signature.... Read More

Yes, your pay can be reduced at any time as long as the employer is complying with wage and hour law.  For example, if you were hired at $15.00 per hour, you employer could later reduce that to $10.00 per hour whether you agreed with that or not. However, if the employer could not reduce it to $5.00 per hour because that is below minimum wage.... Read More

Certainly you can set a consultation with an experienced employment attorney to fully discuss your situation. Keep in mind that the attorneys who answer your questions here are subject to rules prohibiting soliciting you to represent or consult with you.  That means you will need to reach out to the attorney(s) you choose on your own. Having said that, I do need to let you know that North Carolina is an employment at will state where an employee can be terminated at any time for any reason.  You can be terminnated for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all.  You can only file a claim for wrongful firing if you can show that there was an unlawful motive behind your termination. ... Read More

I do not see a specific question so I will give a general answer.  Harassment is unlawful only if it is directed to you due to a protected class such as race, sex, national origin etc.  Retaliation for a complaint of harassment is unlawful only if your complaint is a "protected activity."  It will be a protected activity only if you are complaining about unlawful harassment (see previous).  North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where an employee can be fired "without cause."  Vacation that is accrued but unused does not to have to be paid out when a termination occurs if the employer has a written policy that covers such a situation.  Hope this information helps.... Read More

It is possible you have a claim under the Americans With Disabilities Act, but I really cannot tell just from this.  If you want to pursue, speak with an experienced employment attorney.  Either way, a charge must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days of the date you were terminated.... Read More

It is not reasonable for a good employment attorney to consult with you for free; just plain bad business practice. Employment cases are extremely complex and very fact specific; details are the key. Additionally, employment cases are not like personal injury cases, or criminal law, or family law cases where only a few basic facts are important. Speaking directly to an invididual is almost always a necessity at some point in the process. A good employment attorney is hard to find and they are selective about cases until they have all the details. The bottom line is that the good ones will charge a consultation fee. Usually, it will be money well spent even if you have no case.   If you see a personal injury attorney who offers a "free" consultation, do you then expect the doctor who treats you for the injury to give you the first treatment free?  Of course not.  Different types of practice. Same way among the different attorney pratice areas.... Read More

The FMLA protects you when you are out of work due to a serious health condition.  The employer is not allowed to count FMLA time against you for termination purposes.  However, if you miss work with no FMLA coverage, then the employer can lawfully terminate you in most cases.  If you are FMLA eligible and you might miss time away from work due to a serious health condition, then you should appy for FMLA.... Read More

The only way to know for sure about the deduction would be to review the health insurance plan documents and then your payroll records to determine coverage and whether you are paying in advance.  In general, your health insurance benefits will end immediately upon termination of your employment, or, in some cases, at the end of the calendar month.  Also, in general, your employer does not terminate your health insurance. Rather, the employer provides notice to the health insurance company that you have been terminated which then triggers the termination of your continuing coverage per the plan and triggers the COBRA notification requirement. Employers in this state are not required to provide any type of paid leave.  However, if they do provide such paid leave, they are allowed to adopt forfieture provisions that provide you lose some or all of your paid leave in certain circumstances.  For example, many employers have a policy that you forfeit all accrued paid leave if you are terminated or quit without notice. So, it really depends on what the employer's policy on paid leave says.  If there is no policy at all, or you do not meet the forfeiture definition, then the employer must pay you all accrued but used paid leave.... Read More

I am sorry this happened to you.  If you performed the work in North Caroilna, then you would likely need to file here unless you signed a written contract or agreement that said you have to file in another state.  There could be a problem in getting the company served with process if they do not have a physical presence in North Carolina and, if you can, it may be tough to collect the money.  This is not really an employment question, which is my area, so my knowledge is limited.  Best of luck to you.... Read More

You need to have an experienced employment attorney review the contract with you.  If you are searching for an attorney, you may want to use the Find A Lawyer feature at the top of the page (website) as attorneys are prohibited from soliticing you. Keep in mind that employers adopt non-competes for a reason and generally have no desire whatsoever to negotiate the agreement after you have signed.... Read More

Yes, it is legal. However, such an action may have consequences on items such as pay and certain types of employment agreements.  For example, if the revised offer letter reduces your pay retroactively, the employer is not allowed to deduct that pay decrease.  The amount of the reduction does not matter as long as you are making above minmum wage.... Read More

There is no law that requires an employer in North Carolina to give you severance.  Therefore, it is impossible to say was "reasonable" is as it will mean different things to different employees or employers.  I suggest you set a consultation with an employment attorney to review the agreement and to see if you have any legal claims against the employer.  If you sign a severance agreement, you are giving up your right to file any legal claims (although most employees have no legal claims).  Therefore, if you do have a legal claim, then the employer may be willing to pay more money to get you to sign the severance agreement.... Read More

North Carolina is an employment-at-will state where you can be terminated for any reason.  You can only file a wrongful termination lawsuit if you can show the termination was motivated by unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. There are no laws that protect employees who are terminated due to medical conditions other than the FMLA which applies only to employers with 50 or more employees or the Americans With Disabilities Act whcih applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Unfortunately, neither law applies to an employer with 10 employees. ... Read More

The general answer is no.  The law requires that you file a charge wiht the EEOC within 180 days if you are claiming discrimination on the basis race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older or if you are claim retaliation because of engaging in a protected acitivity related to one of those. If you demand it, the EEOC will take your charge and immediately give you a Notice of Right to Sue.  You could then file a lawsuit and see if there is some argument you could put together to convince the judge to ignore the late filing with the EEOC.  It is theorectically possible, but in exceptionally rare circumstances.  You used to be able to file a state court lawsuit if you alleged discrimination on the basis of any of the factors above.  You may still be able to, but HB2 (the transgender bathroom bill) may have terminated the ability of employees to do so in this state.  There is a separate federal law that covers race discrimination and retaliation in cases involving a black employee or applicant that does not need an EEOC filing. All of this is very complex and you should probably consult directly with an expererienced employment attorney about this.... Read More