Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

Hi. I have been working at my new job for 4 weeks now. My employer informed me this week that we had to renegotiate my contract (basically the salary) because there was a mistake in the way my contract was written up. I am a full-time employee receiving the hourly wage of a part time employee in this organization. Part-time employees are paid more on an hourly basis because they do not receive benefits, etc. However, in my contract, it clearly states that I am full time. My contract was signed 2 months ago by myself and the CEO of the company, and I began working one month ago. Also, I had another job offer at the time, and I chose this position over the other one based on the salary I would be receiving at this job. Now my employer wants to renegotiate because they are saying it is a "compression" issue- if other full-time employees find out I am making more money than them, especially if they have been with the company longer, they will be upset. What are my rights? Can they fire me if I refuse to negotiate? I feel like if the situation was reversed and I wanted to renegotiate, I would be shot down. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Asked on 10/29/11, 7:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Solomon Weinstein Solomon Weinstein, Esquire

if you have a valid contract then I do not believe the employer can change the terms in the middle of the contract. Is your contract for a specific period one year several years etc. A defense to a breach of contract action is that there was a mutual mistake but again this does not seem to be the situation Of course the employer can terminate you if you don't agree to changes but he would be breaching the contract and you could sue for damages and other possible remedies. This may be spelled out in your contract. Of course all this is based on what the contract says and you would be advised to review the matter with an attorney to get a clear evaluation of the situation and determine your options.

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Answered on 10/29/11, 9:33 am


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