Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Re: Unfair Firing

Did you have to relocate? Did you incur any expenses like selling a house and buying another one? You could charge him with the expenses incurred. But if it was in the same town, well... there is little you can do in an employment at will state like New York. That is why people should get written employment contracts when leaving a good job or turning down other offers. I realize it is unusual in your field but if more head chefs asked for written contracts like baseball players they would not be struck out so often.

Re: Unfair Firing

Unless you have all this in writing you will never be able to prove it. Next time insist on a contract reviewed by an attorney.

Re: Unfair Firing

Did you and the employer discuss other terms of your employment at the restaurant, e.g. how long you would work for? I disagree with the posting regarding the necessity for the agreement to be in writing. Oral contracts are entered into all the time.

Re: Unfair Firing

I've looked at the two previous postings, and actually agree with both. It's smart to get employment contracts in writing, but you can prove their existence without doing so.

What hasn't been discussed yet is the law, which, unfortunately, is against you.

You clearly had an employment contract. You showed up for work and they paid you. That's enough evidence to prove the existence of an agreement. The problem is that the contract was one of "at will" employment. It was not for a fixed duration or did not provide that you could only be terminated "for cause." Under these circumstances either party may terminate the arrangement at any time, for any or no reason.

As to any promises of future promotions, these are swallowed up by the "at will" rule. Unless you can prove that the employer deliberately induced you to take employment by making promises they never intended to keep (which is easy to believe but incredibly difficult to prove), promises of a promotion are irrelevant to the analysis.

I'm sorry for your circumstances. Our economy depends on the free flow of labor and services, and the rules I outlined above are designed for that purpose. If it's any consolation, the "at will" rule cuts both ways. For every chef who's fired after two weeks, there's a chef who walks off the job after two weeks, leaving the restaurant in the lurch.

Regards,

Tom