Look out: Your job offers or contracts might be inadvertently binding your company to certain terms and conditions.
That’s what happened to a company in one recent case.
An employee was hired and resigned a few months later, after a dispute about the employer’s diversity program. He sued to get his pay for the rest of the year, claiming he was under a contract which stated he was owed a full year’s salary.
The company’s response: The man was an at-will employee, and paying for a full year when he only worked a few months would be ridiculous.
The judge sided with the employee and ordered the company to pay up. Why? The job offer letter indicated his salary would be paid in “12 monthly installments.” According to the judge, that was “a clear indication” the company intended to hire him for a year.
It was just one simple phrase, but it made a huge difference.
Cite: Herndon-Brown v. Riverdale Country School
