Answers Posted By Neil Klingshirn

Answer to Sign on bonus

The answer depends on the literal wording of the payback provision in your agreement. See what it says.

If it says that you agree to pay back the bonus if you resign within two years, then your resignation triggers the obligation. In other words, unless the payback provision says that you don't have to pay the bonus back if you offer to work on a prn basis, then you would owe it once you resigned.

You may be able to negotiate repayment of less than the full bonus, because your former employer will have to file suit to recover the bonus. That is an expensive and time-consuming process for the employer. The same is true for you, though, so be careful not to force the issue. That is especially true if the agreement makes the loser in court pay the winner's attorney's fees. If so, be very careful about getting sued. You could be at risk of being to pay the company's attorneys' fees as well as the bonus.

posted Dec 30, 2022 1:04 PM [EST]

Answer to Is my employment agreement enforceable or am I employed at-will?

This is a great question. I am not an Oregon employment lawyer, so I cannot answer your question specific to Oregon law. I will answer it though, as though Ohio law applied to it. To the extent Oregon and Ohio law differ, this answer will not apply.

Unless terminated pursuant to its terms, the 2016 agreement would still be in place. It requires either party to give 90 days notice to terminate without cause. If neither party has given notice to terminate, it is still in effect. That includes the employee obligation to give 90 day notice.

A handbook will not terminate the employment agreement or change the 90 day notice to at-will. The handbook contains policies and procedures. You signed a contract. Policies and procedures are not binding. A contract generally is.

Coming back to your contract, you can agree with your employer to end it early. The key there is getting your employer to agree. If that is not possible and you need to switch jobs, then you are still free to do so, but you may be responsible for the damages that early termination causes the employer.

Further, just because you don't give notice doesn't mean your employer will sue you. Theoretically, the non-breaching party only files suit for a breach of contract if the damage done by the breach exceeds the cost of the suit.

The damage caused by breaching a notice obligation is mostly the cost replacing you during the notice period, or the revenue lost from your billings that can't be done by someone else. If your employer can replace you in less than 90 days, then it won't suffer full harm.

So, keep looking, and lean towards the opportunity with longest transition period. If you can give, say 45 days, then it may not be worth it to the employer to take you to court over the other 45.

That said, again, I am basing this on Ohio law and I specifically disclaim any legal advice. Before you give less than 90 days notice, consult an Oregon employment lawyer.

posted Dec 10, 2022 12:11 PM [EST]

Answer to Company property vs personal property a coworker took considered theft once i told him

If you can prove ownership in the object that your co-worker took, the object is yours. If the coworker refuses to return it, that is theft, and you have a civil claim for the value of the thing you own that your coworker took. See Ohio Revised Code 2913.02,

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2913.02

The fact that the coworker lost the company issued object does not change the outcome, it is still theft. However, you should demonstrate to the coworker that you, or the other coworker who gave it to you, is the owner.

posted Nov 29, 2022 08:10 AM [EST]

Answer to My husband quit his job and his employer continued to direct deposit his weekly pay. Unfortunately we didn't catch it for over 2 months and when we did we let the previous employer know and have not spent a dime. The deposits were his net pay. The employe

Unfortunately, the money deposited to your husband's account remains the property of your employer. You have a legal obligation to return it. If you do not, your husband's former employer can recover it through legal action.

That said, this is a good example of the saying, "possession is 9/10 of the law." If you are unable to repay it right now because the money was spent on something, your employer will have to go through a lengthy and expensive process. That gives you the ability to negotiate a payment plan.

posted Jul 21, 2021 07:01 AM [EST]

Answer to we have to bring in our own fans to work if want something to cool down. we were told if we forget to turn then off they will cut the cord on the fan

You should consider making a complaint to OSHA over unsafe work conditions. You can file a complaint here:

https://www.osha.gov/workers/file-complaint

Your complaint can be anonymous.

posted Apr 9, 2021 05:33 AM [EST]

Answer to If I accepted a settlement to not file a lawsuit does the payment still count as income for taxes?

I am not entirely clear on your factual situation. I understand that you threatened to file suit but settled your claim before you had to file it. I cannot tell, though, what the dispute about, although it sounds like your employer had not paid you and then agreed to do so to settle the suit.

Normally, a settlement has no effect on the taxability of the money received as a settlement. For example, if your employer pays you wages, you owe tax on those wages and you pay the tax when your employer withholds them and pays them on your behalf. Suppose, though, that your employer fails or refuses to pay you wages until you sue or threaten to sue and then pays them to settle or avoid the suit. In that case you still owe tax on the amount that you receive and are responsible for paying it.

What I think may be happening is that your employer does not want to withhold taxes from settlement because, if it did, it would have to match the social security taxes that it takes out. In other words, it sounds like your employer wants to cheat either you or the IRS by not paying its taxes at all, or making you pay tax on that amount as self employment or independent contractor earnings. If that is the case, it is a pretty crappy move by your employer.

That said, I am licensed only in Ohio, I don't have a complete picture of what is going on and I am not a tax lawyer, which is what you need. So the best advice I can give is to retain a tax lawyer or a CPA. In addition, this article might help:

http://www.myemploymentlawyer.com/Tax-Issues-in-Settlement-C-Royer-10-5-2007-1.htm

posted Feb 23, 2021 5:05 PM [EST]

Answer to I live in Illinois, we are now

I am licensed to practice only in Ohio and will answer your question based on Ohio law. To be sure under Illinois law, consult an Illinois employment lawyer.

Under Ohio law, employees are employed at-will, meaning you can terminate their employment or change the terms of their employment when you want, unless you agreed not to do so in your contract of employment. Therefore, you are free to terminate the employment of these new employees even before they begin their employment. Since you have the right to end their employment altogether, you also have the right to change other terms of their employment, like their start date. As such, in Ohio, you would be able to delay their start date without incurring legal liability.

While Illinois is an employment-at-will state, again, check with an Illinois employment lawyer if you want to be sure.

posted Mar 21, 2020 12:27 PM [EST]

Answer to When does the new bill granting sick days for Covid-19 school closers take effect

The new bill, HB 6102, has not yet passed the Senate. However, President Trump is urging the Senate to pass it and send it to him.

Here is an initial analysis of the Coronavirus Paid Leave bill:

http://www.myemploymentlawyer.com/wiki/Families-First-Coronavirus-Response-Act-An-analysis-of-House-Bill-6201.htm

It will provide federally funded Emergency Paid Leave, and it requires employers to pay employees up to 10 days of paid sick time during a public health emergency, which we are in.

I have not figured out yet when it will take effect, if passed. One would think it would take effect immediately.

While I don't think athe Bill will help employees who are out of work due to a plant closure unrelated to coronavirus, I believe it will cover the days that you need to take leave to care for children who are at home due to a school closure.

Here is a link to the Emergency Paid Leave bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6201?s=2&r=88

posted Mar 15, 2020 09:30 AM [EST]

Answer to Can HR lie to get me off of FML

It sounds like Human Resource lied to you and your boss to get you to return to work early, over your Dr.'s objections. If true, that could constitute interference with your FMLA rights. You should contact an Illinois employment lawyer to evaluate the value of this potential claim.

The good news is, now that you know you discovered HR's duplicity, you can return to your leave. You have the right to take all of your leave as a matter of federal law. You don't need HR's permission, or your boss's permission, to take FMLA leave. As long as you qualify for it, have enough leave in the bank and follow your company's call off procedures, you are entitled to take it.

posted Mar 4, 2020 08:30 AM [EST]

Answer to After an employee is terminated, is there any law that requires health insurance to be continued for a minimum number of days or weeks?

Under federal law, the answer is "No." An employer with 20 or more employees that has a group health plan must offer the employee the opportunity to participate in the plan, at the employee's cost, but the employer has no obligation under federal law to continue employee health insurance at the employer's cost.

I am not licensed to practice in Florida and do not know Florida law. It is possible that Florida could have a law concerning health care coverage continuation, if federal law does not preempt it. Nonetheless, to be sure, check with a Florida employment lawyer.

posted Feb 24, 2020 08:30 AM [EST]