Answers Posted By Harold Goldner

Answer to Broken employer agreement

The Contract is the Key

I can't imagine that any lawyer, no matter how competent, can provide you any assistance whatsoever without actually laying eyes on the contract to which you refer.

Do yourself a favor and contact an attorney, schedule an initial consultation, and find out what your rights are.

Asking someone to opine on what a contract 'means' without showing them the contract is like asking a doctor for medication without a physical examination!

posted Mar 26, 2007 2:13 PM [EST]

Answer to Employee rights when caught or accused of stealing

Employment At-Will

Please recognize that information received over the internet is not a substitute for a face-to-face meeting with a lawyer. No lawyer should ever give you 'legal advice' over the internet without entering into an attorney-client relationship, so that the entire discussion is privileged and protected from public disclosure.

Pennsylvania is an at-will state in which one can be fired at any time for a good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. An employee can be terminated for stealing even if the employer learns later that the employee wasn't actually stealing.

Courts do not review employer's 'human resources' practices and procedures unless the issue is employment discrimination, that is violation of state or federal laws protecting people from being treated differently in the workplace because of age, sex, nationality, religion or race.

Here the employer may not have used the best method for sniffing out employee theft, but the courts will generally not second-guess, and the fired employee will probably have no recourse.

posted Mar 17, 2007 09:36 AM [EST]

Answer to NON COMPETE CREATING A HARDSHIP

Enforement of Non-Competes can be complicated

Recognize that you have posted a question for a Pennsylvania attorney, but the particulars of your matter are going to require consultation with a NEW JERSEY attorney, and you should never let information you receive over the internet substitute for meeting in person with a lawyer.

Non-Compete covenants, in Pennsylvania, must be reasonable as to scope, meaning length, distance and conduct being restrained. They are generally not favored in the courts, but are recognized where a legitimate interest of the business must be protected.

It is harder for an employer to try to restrain your subsequent employment because they believed you were somehow 'valuable' to them if they didn't want to continue your employment.

If you don't actually have a job offer with the company they don't want you to work for, then you don't appear to have a problem.

Your best course is to retain a lawyer who can evaluate the circumstances of your termination, and assist you in determining whether there is leverage with with to negotiate the terms of the non-compete.

Again, nobody can give you legal advice over the internet. You must actually contact and meet with a lawyer.

posted Mar 17, 2007 09:32 AM [EST]

Answer to how to nullify non-compete and do i have the right?

Non-Compete Covenants in Pennsylvania

The courts generally do not favor non-compete covenants in Pennsylvania, but this does not mean they won't enforce them.

Such covenants have to be reasonable as to scope, distance and time, and have to be reasonably related to a cognizable interest of the employer.

Therefore, the enforceability of these covenants varies from industry to industry. If you are working for a web design company, where technology changes every few months, a 2 year covenant, for instance, will probably be too long. If you are a barber, a covenant restricting you to a few miles for a year or to would probably be valid.

So, it goes without saying, you should seek legal counsel who can review not just your contract, but also the surrounding circumstances. It is possible that these payroll irregularities breach the contract, and therefore free you from the covenant altogether.



posted Sep 9, 2006 12:08 PM [EST]

Answer to Relocation contract

Contract interpretation depends upon the contract!

Please understand that without seeing the specific contract, it is impossible for legal counsel to adequately advise you on this matter, so you have to consider the following response in light of that fact.

It is reasonable for an employer to seek reimbursement of costs associated with hiring you, especially if it has been written into a contract.

On the other hand, your supervisor's comments about 'your disability,' raise a different issue. Discrimination against the disabled is unlawful if you: (1) have a record of disability; (2) are actually disabled; or (3) are 'regarded as' disabled.

It sounds like your supervisor regards you as disabled (since you haven't otherwise mentioned whether you are, in fact, disabled, and I cannot get into that definition in the short space of this already lengthy response).

If you are suffering 'severe and pervasive' harassment because you are regarded as disabled, your supervisor is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and this may provide you the leverage you need to negotiate your way 'out' or 'around' the terms of the contract.

That's the general response; you really do need to consult an employment law attorney with contract in hand for a more thorough response, and one that you can rely upon to plot your next step.

posted Aug 27, 2006 11:40 PM [EST]

Answer to Non-Compete after being RIF'd

Non-competes after RIF's

The answer, unfortunately, is that 'it depends.' Non-compete covenants are only enforceable if they are reasonable as to time and scope.

Some industries change over a matter of months, and a length non-compete would be unenforceable, others are less dynamic and longer periods may be acceptable.

This is because the covenant must be designed to protect some interest of the employer in the employee's services.

However, there is some case law in Pennsylvania which suggests that if an employer discharges and employee, they clearly did not value the employee's services, so for that employer to argue that they somehow need to be otherwise protected is inconsistent.

Sometimes the new employer can work out the differences with the former employer, especially where, as you describe, the former employer cannot satisfy the customer's needs by their own admission.

That's the short answer --- the long answer is to contact a competent attorney who can actually review your non-compete covenant and the circumstances of your RIF.

posted Aug 9, 2006 4:23 PM [EST]