Legal Question in Employment Law in New York
Failure to fulfill a contract
A particular IT consulting firm sent me to interview with their client. Their client approved of me. The consulting firm asked me to come in and sign the papers. Prior to signing they told me that I will start within 2-3 days. They gave me a signed offer letter stating that I will be making $70k annualy as a full time employee of their firm with my starting date pending the succesful completion of the background check. My background check went through fine. They said they were working out the start date with their client and they told me to be ready to come out on a 24 hour notice. This went on for about 6 weeks with me calling them twice a week and they telling me that I will start ''next week''. They kept on pushing the starting date until (after 6 weeks) I complained that I have been signed for 6 weeks and haven't seen a paycheck. They basically told me that if I look for another job they will ''understand''. Apparently, they have lied to me and did not have everything finalized with their client as they claimed they did before I signed on and kept lying until I pressed them for a paycheck. They refuse to pay me to this date.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Failure to fulfill a contract
You may or may not have a case. Probably not the answer you were looking for. Whether you have a case depends on the signed offer letter and what it says. If the letter is a contract, which requires that it spells out certain specific terms, then you have probably a breach of contract claim. You should be aware that the law requires you to mitigate your damages. Which basically means that you have to try to avoid losing money because of the breach. In the case of an employment contract, this usually means that you must look for a new job. It does not mean that you have to accept any job, but you may look for comparable work.
You will not be able to get a better answer without showing a lawyer the letter. Best of luck to you.
Re: Failure to fulfill a contract
The answer to your question lies in the contract you signed with the IT consulting firm. If it states specifically that your start date will be on the successful completion of a background check, and if you have evidence that you successfully completed such check, you may very well have a breach of contract claim.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman Law Offices, LLC; 156 W. 56th Street, Suite 1902, New York, New York 10019; [email protected]; www.lawyers.com/alo
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