Employment Contract Requires Employee to Give Three Months Notice of Resignation
My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Massachusetts
I recently began work for which I signed an employment contract that requires 3 months notice if I resign. I have only been there a short while, and do not want to give that much notice, since it seriously hampers my ability to take other positions that I'm currently being considered for. Is there any way to get out of this notice requirement? One thing which might work in my favor is that I never received a copy of the contract signed by them. I signed it, but never saw a copy of it signed by them. I have asked the administrator 2 or 3 times for a copy, and she has never responded to the emails I sent requesting it.
What are my options?
Thanks.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
We can't judge the enforceability of a contract we have not read. I can tell you that MA does not like to enforce unreasonable contracts, but your guess is as good as mine whether they would consider this unreasonable. I would tend to agree with you, but my opinion and $2 will get you a Charlie Card.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
is there some reason for the 3 months? Did they provide training or moving expenses or any other sort of financial consideration?
what are the penalties for failing to provide said notice?
and I suspect that if challenged on the enforce ability due to they not signing it they will produce a signed copy.
and a Charlie Card?
hey, whatever happened to the planes over that city out there? Don't recall the city but they were flying all night long.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
Charlie Card = MBTA Subway Pass
City was Quincy. Never did get a straight answer
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
Absent highly unusual circumstances (e.g., an entertainment or sports contract), an employer can't enforce a notice provision - and even in those unusual contexts the remedy is to prevent the employee from taking a new job with another team or venue, not to force the employee to continue to work for the original employer against his will. Forcing somebody to work against their will would be a form of indentured servitude, and thus unlawful.
However, as jk suggests, there may be lawful penalties for resigning without complying with the extended notice requirement, such as reimbursement of certain expenses paid by the employer (training, relocation costs, signing bonuses), waiver of bonuses or commissions, and the like. What those provisions might be, and whether they would be enforceable? That's not something we can address without reading the contract.
Note, whether or not any consequence described in the contract is enforceable, nothing would stop the employer from telling future, prospective employers who call for a background check that you resigned without giving the agreed period of notice.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
I have two relevant pages in pdf form, but don't know how to attach them here. The copy is bad enough that trying to cut and paste the text won't work I don't think. In the contract, I've seen no specified penalties for not complying with the extended notice. Also, after giving it some thought, I'm wondering if the 90 day notice might be seen as unreasonable in legal terms since it impedes my ability to find other employment (very few potential employers are willing to wait three months for my availability). I've also worked there for a short enough period of time that I won't be using them as a reference of any sort, so I'm hoping to avoid them saying anything to any prospective employer. Thank you for the feedback so far.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
Unless when you say a short time, you mean under about three weeks or so, I do not recommend trying to hide the fact that you were working there. You would not BELIEVE how easy it is for an employer to find information about an employee even when they aren't looking for it. Any given industry is a small world, and employers talk to each other.
Re: Am I Committed to 3 Months Notice of My Contract
Quote:
Quoting
neil1967
Also, after giving it some thought, I'm wondering if the 90 day notice might be seen as unreasonable in legal terms since it impedes my ability to find other employment (very few potential employers are willing to wait three months for my availability).
As you have already been told, the rule does not stop you from quitting. An employer can have a policy of requiring 600 years notice, but you can still quit without notice and (absent the unusual sort of circumstance previously described, such as your being under a 600 year sports contract with a major league team) get another job.