Employment Contracts
Edith Pearce is an expert employment lawyer. If you are considering entering into an employment agreement or contract in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Ms. Pearce will review your employment contract and advise you on how you should proceed. Also, if you currently have an employment contract and may become separated from your employer or suffer adverse actions against you, you need an experienced workers compensation and employment attorney to advise you. Some issues to consider in evaluating an employment contract include:
- Length of Term of Employment
- Disciplinary Procedures
- Wrongful Discharge or Termination
- Non-compete and restrictive covenants
- Compensation and Benefits
- Severance Agreement or Separation Agreement
Length of Term of Employment
In order to provide employment tenure beyond traditional at-will employment relationship, an employment contract must contain an explicit agreement to employ the person for a definite period of time or to limit the employer’s ability to fire the person for any reason. Also, if an employee continues to work for the employer beyond the specific term (for example two years), the contract may be enforceable for a new term equal to the original term. If you have been terminated and your employment contract provides that the agreement will last for a specific time, or provides you may only be terminated for certain reasons, you should contact an experienced workers compensation and employment attorney immediately.
Disciplinary Procedures
If the employment contract provides for specific disciplinary procedures it will generally require the employer to follow those procedures. For example, a professor who has an employment contract is disciplined for conduct not in conformity with the employment contract. The professor may be able to recover damages because the employer did not follow the agreed disciplinary procedures.
Compensation and benefits
Specific provisions in a contract or even employee handbook for compensation or benefits including paid holidays, sick leave, vacation pay, severance pay, commissions, stock options, bonuses, etc., are generally enforceable against the employer. The law provides employees with a mechanism for filing a claim for unpaid compensation under the Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL). Under the WPCL, the employer may be responsible for not only unpaid compensation, but liquidated damages or penalties and attorney’s fees. You may even be able to recover compensation and benefits that you were promised, even if not provided in writing. You need an experienced employment lawyer who understands how to make sure you receive your full compensation you were promised under the WPCL and other laws.
Non-compete and restrictive covenants
A non-compete or restrictive covenant is generally an agreement that upon separation from employment, the employee will agree not to work for a competing employer for a period of time, not to solicit customers, not to solicit co-workers to leave their existing employer, and agreements not to work in the same profession or field. Many times agreements will also contain a confidentiality agreement. You should be very careful in signing too restrictive of an agreement, as often relationships and circumstances change. If you have signed a non-compete or restrictive covenant agreement and have left or are thinking of leaving the company, you should seek the advice of an experienced Philadelphia employment lawyer familiar with non-compete and restrictive covenants. When employers have attempted to enforce restrictive covenants or non-compete clauses, courts have often held that the clause must be reasonable. In terms of determining what is reasonable, the court will look at the geographic area restricted, the duration or length of the agreement, the type of business involved, and the scope of the agreement. An employer generally cannot indefinitely preclude a former employee from ever working again in a particular field or within a geographic area. However, these issues are very complex and require the expertise of an experienced employment lawyer. Please contact us for a free consultation.
Wrongful discharge
If the employment contract merely requires the employee to perform “to the satisfaction” of the employer, the courts may examine the employer’s good faith in claiming the employee performed poorly and therefore was discharged. An employee may have a claim for wrongful discharge especially if the employee is fired under an employment contract for allegedly “poor” or “unsatisfactory” performance. Many times specific notice must be given under the contract before an employee may be fired. These and many other factors must be considered and you need the assistance of an experienced employment lawyer to determine if you were discharged or terminated wrongfully contrary to the terms of an employment contract or agreement.
Severance or Separation Agreements
When an employee is fired, many times employers present to the employee a severance agreement. These agreements may be labeled differently, such as a “Waiver and Separation Agreement.” Generally, a severance agreement provides that in exchange for agreeing not to sue or bring a claim against the employer for possibly violating employment laws, you will be given a certain amount of money or wages. Signing such a waiver should be done with extreme caution! Generally, waivers are enforceable. It is often difficult to sue or bring a claim after such a waiver has been signed in exchange for a sum of money. You need an experienced employment lawyer to review this agreement. An experienced employment lawyer will be able to inform you whether you are receiving appropriate money for giving up your rights to sue or file a claim. Never sign a separation or severance agreement without consulting a lawyer.
If you are entering into an employment contract or feel your employment rights have been violated by your employer in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, call the Pearce Law Firm employment and workers compensation attorneys today for a FREE CONSULTATION, or send us an instant e-mail.
We are dedicated to protecting your rights to fair pay, and obtaining full and fair compensation for you.
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If you are entering into an employment contract or feel your employment rights have been violated by your employer in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, call the Pearce Law Firm employment and workers compensation attorneys today for a FREE CONSULTATION, or send us an e-mail.
