Employment Contracts Legal Questions

Assuming that you have the approval of the business's owners (e.g. shareholders; under some circumstances you might owe a duty to the business's creditors as well) to make this charitable donation, I see no reason why not.  Many law firms hire associates and assign them to work, at least part of the time, on pro bono matters.... Read More

the jurisdiction would be NJ and the NJ law would apply. we would review the contract and the circumstances surrounding your employment to determine the merits of your position. you would then be able to make a decision regarding the new employment opportunity. ed dimon 732-797-1600 ext 235. please call... Read More

we can review the employment contract and your circumstances. we can prepare a written legal opinion setting forth the legal merits of your position. we can do this for you and your co-employees. you would then know your legal position. you can join with co-employees to share the legal costs. the fee would be $1500. ed dimon... Read More

we would review the employment contract and the circumstances surrounding the sale of the company and your termination to determine the legal merits of your position. we would provide you with a written legal opinion regarding the merits of your position and the costs to litigate same. you would then have a clear picture. the costs for this review and reserach and written legal opinion would be $1500. you would then know that the analysis was done properly. Ed Dimon 732-797-1600 Please call. ... Read More

What does it provide about expiration?  If it is part of an employment agreement which expired, it probably is not still applicable, although if you continued to work under the same terms and conditions even after the employment agreement expired, it could be implied that all terms and conditions, including the non-compete, continued to apply. If the contract did not have a specific term, however, it would not expire.  Thus, something along the lines of "Employee agrees that he will not compete with the Company for a period of two years after the termination of his employment" would not expire; it would kick in whenever you left your employment. Even if the provision has not expired, however, that doesn't mean that it is enforceable.  Courts generally look upon non-compete agreements with some skepticism, and carefully scrutinize them, enforcing them only if they are reasonably limiited and necessary to protect the employer's legitimate interests (the exact analysis differs from state to state, but that is the general gist, except in California where non-competes are unenforceable except under very limited circumstances.)  This analysis can depend on many factors, including the nature of the employee's job, the industry involved, how broad the non-compete is geographically and temporally, whether the employer spent time and money training the employee, whether the employee received additional compensation (beyond just getting or keeping his/her job) for the non-compete, etc. etc.... Read More

Being a college student has nothing to do with whether you were an employee or an independent contractor.  That distinction turns on the amount of discretion and authority you had in doing the work.  If the slumlord told you what to do, how to do it, where to do it, and when to do it, you are properly classified as an employee; if he told you what he wanted done and the details were left to you, you were properly classified as an independent contractor.  For example, if my client tells me he wants me to negotiate a contract for him to sell his house, I am an independent contractor; the client doesn't tell me what to say to the other side's attorney, when to call, what specific language to include.  However, if I work for a law firm, which tells me where my office is, what cases I have to work on, when I have to be in the office, etc., I am an employee of the firm. The lines are not always clear.  For example, you say that you were an employee, but, if so, there should have been taxes withheld from your compensation.  It may be that you thought you were being paid "off the books", and didn't plan on reporting the income, but that's probably not what you want to tell the IRS. The slumlord wants to classify you as an independent ocntractor because, if you are a contractor rather than en employee, there are certain taxes he does not have to pay.  However, just because he has an incentive to classify you that way doesn't mean that he is wrong. As to whether you can sue the slumlord, you can challenge the classification, but I don't think you have any basis to sue the slumlord for damages because, as of now, you have not suffered any; if the classification stood it might affect the amount of social security you receive in the future, but, again, you can take care of that by challenging the classification (honestly, I'm not sure what forum you would mount such a challenge in in Michigan, possibly in the Department of Labor.  Giving you a 1099 may force you to pay taxes, but you were supposed to pay them anyway sou you can't claim that as damages.... Read More

you could be sued and the employer has an good chance of being successful. you misrepresented your credentials and the employer relied upon your representations to hire you and have you perform tasks. if the employer lost money as a result of this fraud, you would be responsible. if we were to represent you, we would be pro-active to mitigate the consequences and thereby, protect your assets. please call to discuss. ed dimon 732-797-1600    Thank you for an excellent explanation of what happened. what does your present employer believe regarding your credentials ? you may have a greater issue with your present employer. the former employer may not want to 'awaken the sleeping dog' if there are no issues. ed dimon 732-797-1600 ext 235... Read More

Employers are not limited to a specific period of time for suspensions so this could go on indefinitely. If you are not returned back to work in a week or two, and the employer will not give you a return to work date, then you may want to file a claim for unemployment with the Division of Employment Security. I do not see any claim for constructive discharge in these fact, but without consulting with you, I cannot say for sure.  You can use the vacation to cover the suspension if it was unpaid and the employer's policy allows for it.  If you have been fired, you can claim any accrued, but unused vacation.  However, that is only if the employer does not have a forfeiture policy which many employers do.... Read More

An employer cannot improperly designate or re-classify employees as independent contractors.  If it is just your paycheck you are looking to collect, contact the Texas Workforce Commission Labor Law Department and file a Payday Act Complaint.  The forms are on their website.  Be sure to mention the reclassification from employee to independent contractor.  If you or others were not paid overtime pay (other than in your final check) after the re-classification you may have claims under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act as well.  Those can be pursued through the US Department of Labor - Wage & Hour Division or through a private attorney. ... Read More

It depends on if you have a contract that states you should. If not, then you may be entitled to on call time if your own call time sufficiently limits what you can do with your time while you are on call. If you are required to remain on the employer’s property or nearby and it limits how you would spend your free time then you are probably entitled to pay for your on call time. However, if you are free to spend your time however you want until you are called in then you probably are not entitled to pay for the on call time.    Ohio employment attorney www.mcoffmanlegal.com ... Read More

In Florida, for a non-compete to be enforceable, it has to be reasonable in both time and geography.  Fifty miles would probably be reasonable, but I don't know if there's a time provision.  Also, the "remote" portion may give you some room.  Long short, given the potential risks, I'd say it would be worth the time and a few bucks to hire an attorney to review and sit down with you to get all of the details together so you can get a full assessment of your potential liability, if any.... Read More

The circumstances of your husband's termination as you describe them fit squarely within the "at will" law of employment in Pennsylvania.  Employers can terminate employees for no reason at all.  It's hard to take but that is the law.  There are certainly some reasons for termination that would give rise to a wrongful termination claim (based on age, gender, race, etc.).  I do not see an actionable claim here on your behalf.  Your husband can file for unemployment compensation and should do so as soon as possible.  Maybe you can move sooner?  Sorry that I couldn't give you better news. ... Read More

You must pay the taxes to the IRS and NJ. Make sure you file the returns and make partial payments each quarter.  I am assuming that you are a 1099 employee. If you are a W-2 employee, have your employer withhold larger amounts for taxes. How much do you make ? Salary ? Commission ? This will dictate the taxes to be paid. I would fix the IRS problem before I attacked the employer slow payment issue. Ed Dimon... Read More

Many players get paid more than their coach, and coaches get paid more than general managers.  An employer can pay an employee any amount they agree upon (assuming minimum wage, overtime, and such laws are complied with) UNLESS you either have a contract, either individually or through a union, which provides that you (or your class of employees as a whole) will be paid more than a person in a lesser position OR you are being discriminated against for a reason which is prohibited by statute, e.g. age, race, gender, religion, etc.... Read More