Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Employment Contract

I had an employment contract with my employer for 2 yrs but I had to leave him after 10 months on his payroll. The contract was termed in such a way that he could fire me at any time but I would not be able to leave him for the 2 yr period. If I did I wld be liable for 25k damages to him. The employer runs a body shop of training people on certain tech. and placing them at different client locations. I am not sure if he can provide an documentation towards expenses incurred for training because effectively it was self training with no classroom coaching. The employer also never paid me any overtime and is witholding the last 6 weeks of my pay.

I want to know if I will be liable to pay him the 25K or would it be prorated since I was working with him for 10 mo. and then pay the rest. I am in the process of getting the contract reviewed by a Lawyer but its just taking time to find a suitable lawyer who practices employment law in the Santa Clara County.


Asked on 9/16/05, 1:55 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Re: Employment Contract

Obviously, it would help to review the contract but generally speaking, employers cannot charge employees with the cost of doing business. There are some cases where an employer may charge an employee who leaves early, with some costs, like if they paid for the employee's moving expenses. But to simply assess some arbitrary number for on the job training sounds unenforceable to me and serves to chill the right of an employee to work wherever they want, which is against California public policy. I seriously doubt such a provision can be enforced. But follow through with a more informed meeting with an attorney in your area just make sure.

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Answered on 9/16/05, 5:19 pm
Patrick Turner Patrick E. Turner Inc. APLC

Re: Employment Contract

You are doing exactly what you should do: you are having the contract reviewed by an employment law attorney in your local area. Make sure to discuss your exams/nonexempt status with the attorney to determine your entitlement to overtime. Further, your employer does not have a right to retain your last paycheck as an offset against a debt it believes you may owe; it stands in no better position than any other creditor.

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Answered on 9/16/05, 3:13 pm


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