Employment Contract

What is the name of your state? New York

I recently resigned from my company position as a trader because on one particular occasion, my immediate manager came up very close to my person and said: "you are a ****ing pussy". He said this after I had written an email which demonstrated his incompetence in his position. My resignation was accepted and I am no longer with the company. The problem is that there was a clause in my contract which kept me binded to the firm for x years. The terms went something like this: "if you resign without cause, the x year commitment will still hold and you must pay y % of all your future earnings to the company for as long as the x year contract is in effect. If you resign with cause, then you are released from the x year commitment with the company"

Is it reasonable for me to state my reasons for leaving the company is for harassment? I left the firm because of that incident which I consider to have been harassment, abuse, misconduct, or whatever term you wish to use to describe it. Therefore, I resigned with cause. This distinction between resigning with cause and resigning without cause is necessary as I signed a contract with them binding me to them for some number of years. The contract states that the contract will be binding if i resign without cause and the contract will be null if i resign with cause. What do you think? I believe I left the company with cause but they may decide to dispute that and say I left without cause. Someone please help me.

Also, will I be able to collect unemployment benefits?

Thanks

NOW that you have put your state on your post someone will be able to help you.

BelizeBreeze said:

NOW that you have put your state on your post someone will be able to help you.

Click to expand...

thanks

new york

Sorry...

Non-compete contracts are an area of the law where lawyers get rich. There are no hard and fast rules...although some states do have a "reasonableness" approach to enforcing them. They'll ask questions like were you compensated for signing it? Does it extend for a reasonable geographic area? Is it for a resonable length of time? Do the "for cause" clauses make sense?

Bottom line...we've got the best justice system money can buy. Does your ex-employer have more money to spend on a lawyer than you? Would you do them enough damage if you went to work for a competitor that they would sue? If so, can you get a lawyer interested in your case on contingency?

You might also talk with someone from the NY Dept of Labor (or whatever its called) to see if there are some state laws involved.

Thanks. I always thought to myself that it couldn't be possible that any firm could include terms in a contract which would prevent a person from making a living; and if such terms exist they would be nulled by any reasonable judge. Requiring me to pay x% of my future earnings for the remainder of the contract is basically preventing me from earning a living.

olgethorpe said:

Non-compete contracts are an area of the law where lawyers get rich. There are no hard and fast rules...although some states do have a "reasonableness" approach to enforcing them. They'll ask questions like were you compensated for signing it? Does it extend for a reasonable geographic area? Is it for a resonable length of time? Do the "for cause" clauses make sense?

Bottom line...we've got the best justice system money can buy. Does your ex-employer have more money to spend on a lawyer than you? Would you do them enough damage if you went to work for a competitor that they would sue? If so, can you get a lawyer interested in your case on contingency?

You might also talk with someone from the NY Dept of Labor (or whatever its called) to see if there are some state laws involved.

Click to expand...

Can someone help me here?

thanks

Your choices...

I don't think anyone can give you a definite answer without reviewing the contract and the details of your case. But as I see it, you've got 3 choices...

1. Ignore it, and get another job. Your ex-employer may never find you. If they do, they may decide to not enforce the contract. If they do sue, you may win.

2. Get a lawyer now. Show them the agreement, and get a legal opinion.

3. Talk to the NY Dept of Labor to see if they can offer guidance.

Not sure which one I'd pick...but 3. sounds like a place to start.

I realize that this was an uncomfortable position to be put in, but you may have quit too soon--at least you should have filed a written complaint with management so that there could have been a track record established and would have been evidence to support your case with unemployment to show it was for cause. There is no way to know in advance whether you will be eligible for unemployment or not--all you can do is go ahead and apply for it and see what happens.

If I were you I would consult an employment law attorney because that clause you mentioned in possibly illegal--why should they be allowed to benefit from your future income without having to do anything for it? Whatever you do, DON'T pay them what they are asking for, and you will be putting them in the position of having to go to court to collect from you, which they probably won't do.

Whoops...

I went back an read your original post, and I'm not absolutely clear on something. You say, the contact reads that you'll pay them x% of your future earnings...are there any other words about where those earnings would come from? Most employment contracts say you can't work for a competitor...if they're saying "x% of earnings" FROM ANY JOB....then that is almost certainly unenforceable.

All employment contracts I'm aware of are subject to a "reasonableness" test. Grabbing money from any job you take is not reasonable.

See a lawyer.