Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia
The restaurant that I work in recently decided to get on the computer and type up "contracts" that the employees must sign. The contract says that "we must pay for any food that is lost due to mishandling." As far as I know, the corporate office isn't behind this; it's just a random idea from the managers of this specific location. Is this legally binding? The contract also states, "Not signing this contract can result in termination." Can we be fired for not signing the contract? What should/can I do? Mistakes by employees happen, but should the employees be financially obligated to pay for the mistake? Please help, thank you.
p.s. The corporate office is in Kansas Cuty but the place that I work is in Richmond, Virginia.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Hard to answer these questions without reviewing the exemplar contract itself and other relevant facts, including whether such contracts are actually at variance with the accepted policy of the company's corporate headquarters regarding the matters referenced therein (in my opinion).
One or more of the employees affected may wish to notify anonymously the
corporate headquarters as to what is allegedly occurring in their Richmond location.