Legal Question in Employment Law in New Jersey
Hello,
Any help/opinions is highly appreciated!!!
Until recently my wife was employed by Employer 'A', who had processed her H1B visa and placed her at a client location through Employer 'B'. She has been working there for 3 years, same client. My wife decided to switch jobs because Employer 'A' reduced her hourly rate drastically (even though the rate remained UNchanged from the Client's side).
She became an employee of Employer 'B' and is now working on the same project with the same client (she relinquished her H1B status and now works on EAD) . There was no "Non-Compete" agreement signed by her at the time of initial employment with Employer 'A' 3 years ago. My wife sent her resignation to 'A' via e-mail without informing them that she has joined 'B', for obvious reasons.
Now 'A' is coming back with threats that there may be legal repurcussions from their side. What should she do at this point?
Employer 'B' is co-operative and has also agreed to not disclose to 'A', my wife's employment with them, since they have had similar complaints about 'A' (like not paying on time, pre-dating reduced hourly rates without prior intimation, holding off paychecks etc..) from previous consultants who were employees of 'A'.
Since there was NO Non-Compete agreement, will Employer 'A' try to harass her in some other way?
Also, since this happened recently, she has not received her W-2 from Employer 'A' yet. Are they legally bound to issue the W-2 so she can file the taxes?
As for her part, she has decided to keep quiet and cut-off any communication with 'A'. Is it a right choice?
Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
You indicated that there is no "non-compete" agreement with Employer A. If such is the case, your wife is free to work for Employer B under the assumption that she does not have any trade secrets belong to Employer A that she may be barred from disclosing to a subsequent employer.
Employer A has until March 2009 to provide a W-2 or some other earning statement (e.g. IRS Form 1099). If Employer A fails to provide the mentioned information, your wife can contact the IRS for assistance (see http://IRS.gov).
She is probably doing the right thing in not providing the former employer with any more information than they already have. The fact that there is no non-competition agreement is a big help because an NJ court will not read one into the relationship. However, an employee owes his or her current employer a duty of loyalty during the period of employment even without a non-competition agreement. So, the fact that she is working for the same people that Employer A introduced could be a problem. I would recommend that she either contact a business lawyer now or, at least, be prepared to do that if the former employer makes any move at all. My firm handles matters of this type. If I can be of further help to you, call or email.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
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