Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Misleading Verbal Commitments/Statements by
Hired by a privately held company as a Director (exec. level) 7/00. During negotiation of pre-employment submitted a written request for employment contract covering six months pay if I lost position due to M&A or layoff. Told (verbally) by hiring VP ''no employees have contracts'', (false statement). Company layed off 20% in March. Forced to transfer to managerial position, no formal notice by HR. Since then, have had verbal committments by a VP and Dir. saying if I stayed to help them achieve near-term goals, they would work out a severance agreement with CFO and Dir. of HR that I would receive once I achieved goals. I have held up my end but received no word on the status of my requests (have asked on two occasions, again,verbal committments they would get back to me). In two seperate instances, CEO made verbal committment (does this consitute verbal contract?) to all leadership team and employees that if he had to layoff a single employee, that ''I will personally ask the board to remove me from my position'' (construed as company being healthy) Any legal or civil recourse based on lies and being mislead by insiders? I would be looking to obtain the six months pay I was originally was seeking.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Misleading Verbal Commitments/Statements by
Because the company rejected your request for a written severance agreement at the outset, you probably have no claim on that. However, you may have an "implied in fact" contract where the management asked you to stay on in exchange for a severance package--what you might receive would depend upon what and how specific the terms were. If they do not keep their promise, you may have a fraud claim (provided you can show damages--i.e. lost employment and other opportunities).
This is general information and should not be construed as legal advice. Your best bet would be to consult with an attorney specializing in civil litigation of employment contracts. By examining the particular facts of your situation, a competent litigator should be able to give you a good idea of your chances of success.
Re: Misleading Verbal Commitments/Statements by
You are missing a very important element to form a contract... an acceptance of your offer of 6 month severance agreement payable by the employer. They strung you along, but never made the commitment. Unless both parties agree to the terms, there is no agreement, thus no contract, verbal or otherwise. You may wish to confirm in writing all promises of job security and acquire all documents or policies which may support the contention that you cannot lose your job, without good cause. Your best bet is to establish the creation of an "implied" agreement, which courts may find based on all the circumstances of your employment.
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