Employment Contracts Legal Questions

Do you have an employment contract which limits your employer's right to fire you?  If not, your employer can fire your for any reason that is not prohibited by statute, such as race, gender, religion, etc.  Your employer would have the right to fire or transfer you in order to hire someone else,  So unless you had an employment contract which prohibite this action, or you believe you were discriminated against based on such an impermissible reason (for example if you believe that your supervisor received favorable treatment because of her race), there appears to be nothing illegal about what your employer did. ... 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

Yes.   At will simply means that an employee can be fired for any reason (other than for reasons prohibited by statute, such as race, religion, etc.) at any time UNLESS there is a contract which limits the employer's right to fire him/her.  A contract which, for example, provides that the employee will be employed for a term of five years and can only be terminated for cause as defined in the contract, would limit the employer's right to fire the employee.    ... Read More

That depends on whether the company has sufficient contacts with Georgia for a Georgia court to exercise jurisdiciton over it.  You didn't set forth the circumstances giving rise to your claim, but if it arises out of a contract which was to be performed in Georgia, Georgia would probably be able to exercise jurisdiction (assuming that you have no agreement with the company which requires that claims be asserted in some other venue).... Read More

Do you know why they havn't submitted you money for your vehicle or replaced it?  They have 30 days to do this under LA law.  Tell them you are in the process of obtaining a lawyer to sue them for failure to pay a claim within 30 days if they don't get you a check asap, or your repaired vehicle returned to you asap. ... Read More

It is possible that, for various reasons, this contractual provision would not be enforced by a Court, but it is not illegal.  There is no law that sets forth how much notice a private employee has to give a private employer before leaving, it is simply based on the parties' agreement.... Read More

Non compete clauses are enforceable.  You can try to get a release from your employer since only here short time.  Otherwise have an attorney review it and provide you a consultation.  You may not be someone they would go after but you gamble or you take steps to try and free yourself and hire a lawyer to give you advice ... 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

Are you violating their privacy?  Arguably..  Are you doing anything which violates your employees' legal rights?  No, unless you have a contract with your employees that you will not disclose their names to third parties.  I wouldn't disclose any social security numbers or other more personal info though.... Read More

Theoretically your former employer can seek to enjoin you from working for anyone else until 90 days after you gave notice, but in the real world, unless you have very specialized skills (for example, if you were Britney Spears and were trying to leave your contract to perform in a venue early) there is virtually no chance that they would sue you, and virtually no chance that their suit would succeed if they tried.... Read More