When an employee and employer enter into an employment contract, both sides must, by law, abide by the terms of the contract. Do you fully understand the legal rights you may be giving up by entering into an employment contract? Whether you have been provided an arbitration agreement, a non-competition agreement, a severance contract or any other type of employment agreement, Gibbons Law Group is here to help you fully understand your legal rights. If you have already signed an employment agreement and have questions about its enforceability or meaning, we can help.
When an employee starts a new job, his/her new employer may ask the employee to sign an employment contract discussing various conditions of employment. Employment contracts can be written, oral, or implied, but it is in an employee’s best interest to make sure that the employer puts all discussed terms in writing. Some of these terms may concern:
If an employer breaches the terms of an employment contract, the affected employee may be able to recover damages. Some of the most common breaches of contract include the following:
All North Carolina employees are entitled to receive fair payment for the hours they work. Unpaid wage claims may stem from:
At-will termination means that either the employer or the employee can terminate employment at any time for any legal reason. However, anti-discrimination laws prohibit an employer from firing employees based on their:
If an employer fires an employee for discriminatory reasons, the employer has committed a wrongful discharge. Wrongful discharges can also occur for numerous other reasons. For example, if an employee refuses to perform an illegal act and gets fired as a result, he may have a case for wrongful termination. In any case, we can help determine what steps to take following your wrongful termination.
To establish a breach, you will need to prove that a valid contract did, in fact, exist between you and your employer. Next, you will need to establish exactly how your employer breached the contract. Proving a breach will require you and your attorney to carefully review and analyze all the terms of your contract. Lastly, you will need to show that the breach of contract caused you some sort of harm. This harm can refer to monetary loss (unpaid wages), loss of position (wrongful termination), or any other negative outcome.
Proving these elements can help you build a strong case against your employer for breach of contract. Unfortunately, proving these elements is rarely easy. Even if you do, you can bet your employer will fight tooth and nail against the accusations. Phil Gibbons started his career representing employers, so he knows the tricks that employers and their insurers might try to pull. More importantly, he knows how to defend against them.
If your employer has breached your employment contract, you will likely receive compensatory damages. These damages will equal the amount you would have received if your employer had not breached the contract. The employer may be responsible for the full amount of the contract, even if the employee had not fully performed his contract duties at the time. Employees may receive damages to cover:
Employees may also receive “specific performance” which requires the employer take action to remedy the situation. For example, specific performance will allow reinstatement of the employee if the employee was the victim of a wrongful termination.
Employees trust that their employers will stay true to the words in their employment contracts. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As a result, many employees have their rights violated with regards to fair wages and fair treatment in the workplace. Gibbons Law Group, PLLC has years of experience representing mistreated employees. For assistance, please contact us today at (704) 612-0038 or by filling out our contact form.
If you believe your employee rights have been violated, or you need assistance with a disability claim, fill out our contact form and tell us a little bit about your case.