Employment Contracts Legal Questions

Unless you have an employment agreement which limits your employer's right to fire or demote you, or you believe that you are being demoted based on some reason prohibited by statute (e.g. race, religion, gender, etc.), your employer can fire you at any time for any reason.  It is under no obligation to offer you another position, demotion or not, or severance pay.  So, yes, unless there are other relevant circumstances you didn't mention, it is legal.... 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 simple answer to your question. In order to assess whether or not you still have profit-sharing interest, and attorney would need to review the profit sharing paper that you have along with any plan documents. In addition, if the company has been through any extraordinary event, such as a bankruptcy, profit-sharing rights could have been cut off. Often profit sharing is cut off when you leave employment. I recommend you find a corporate lawyer who has employment law experience. Most experienced lawyers in this area will be company side. Even so, a company side attorney is probably the attorney who will be able to give you the best analysis, but probably won't be an attorney who would sue your former employer. If you pay for analysis from the corporate side attorney, that person may be able to direct you to a plaintiff's employment lawyer for suit if necessary.... Read More

Your inquiry raises a number of questions that can only be answered by looking at the contract document.  However, in general, the non-breaching party cannot impose a "penalty" for the other party's breach of a contract.  It can recover its actual damages, but not a penalty.  There are some qualifications to that statement, but they don't appear applicable here. So, it is possible your employer could sue you for damages for its cost of finding a replacement, but that doesn't mean that amount is automatically $10,000.00.  It is probably far far less.  Also, if the employer has itself breached the contract in some other way, you may not have an obligation to honor your promise of giving 45 days' notice.  An hour-long visit to a reputable lawyer should cost you between $250 and $350.  If your working conditions are so bad that staying another 45 days is unacceptable, you should consider spending that amount to see if there is an "out" for you.  Talking to a lawyer who has read the contract is the only way to know with any certainty.  You might also contact the local bar association in your county or an nearby large county.  These associations usually have lawyer referral services that provide low-cost initial consultations.  Good Luck.... 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

It is difficult to answer your question without knowing exactly what your original agreement provides, but I believe it very unlikely that the  non-compete provisoin would no longer be in force.  However, apart from your transfer, non-compete provisions are less favored than most contractual provisions, and the provision may not be enforceable if it is not considered reasonable and necessary to protect your employer's interests.  For example, most states will not enforce non-competes which run for longer than necesary, cover more geographical territory than necessary, and/or are applied to run of the mill employees who gained no special knowledge or relationships through their employment (for example, a non-compete is much less likely to be enforced against a fast food counter clerk than a doctor).... Read More

wh what ever money you invested personally is yours 100%. Any money that is matched by the employer depends upon the vesting schedule. If you meet the vesting schedule the matching money is yours as well. But money is deducted from your paycheck that is contributed is always 100% yours and any refusal to let you have this money is a violation of the erisa... Read More

No, and employer cannot change the wage rate retroactively.  An employer is always  free to reduce an at-will employee's hours or wages looking forward.  With notice of such intent, the employee can then decide to work and thus accept the changes or quit.  The same is not true looking backward and the employer must pay the wages at the rate it had engaged the employee to work before the work was performed.... Read More