Employment contract
After 6 months into my employment, my employer is asking to sign a contract where I must agree to a 90 day resignation notice. I told them I was not going to sign the contract under those terms, and they said "it's that or the door is open." I live in Florida
Is this legal?
If I decide to sign the contract and later quit without giving the 3 months notice, what could be the legal implications?
Answers (1)
It's legal UNLESS you previously signed an employment contract with this company for a specific period of time, and the notice was not included.
Before signing this contract, check whether there is a provision that establishes "liquidated damages" if you breach the notice provision.
If not, potentially the employer could sue you (or deduct money from you last paycheck so long as it doesn't put you under minimum wage for a pay period and they've reserved that right in the agreement) for damages for breach of contract. Those damages typically are the cost of recruiting a replacement on short notice, and the difference between what they had to pay a temporary employee for the 90 day period versus what they would have paid you if you had stayed for the 90 days.
I would advise you to have this agreement reviewed by an attorney before you sign it. You might also want to request that there be some exceptions written into the agreement (for example, that this provision would not apply if you had to leave the state due to a family emergency, or if you were medically unable to continue your employment).
posted by Phyllis Towzey | Jul 15, 2011 2:30 PM [EST]
Before signing this contract, check whether there is a provision that establishes "liquidated damages" if you breach the notice provision.
If not, potentially the employer could sue you (or deduct money from you last paycheck so long as it doesn't put you under minimum wage for a pay period and they've reserved that right in the agreement) for damages for breach of contract. Those damages typically are the cost of recruiting a replacement on short notice, and the difference between what they had to pay a temporary employee for the 90 day period versus what they would have paid you if you had stayed for the 90 days.
I would advise you to have this agreement reviewed by an attorney before you sign it. You might also want to request that there be some exceptions written into the agreement (for example, that this provision would not apply if you had to leave the state due to a family emergency, or if you were medically unable to continue your employment).
posted by Phyllis Towzey | Jul 15, 2011 2:30 PM [EST]
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