Know Your Rights
With companies laying off employees and financially struggling to make it, employees need to understand their rights and responsibilities.
If your company suddenly goes under, you may not have as many rights as you think.
Employee rights lawyer Mark Jess says there are several subjective factors to take into account before an employee considers suing. He says it comes down to equity and fairness.
"If the employer breached the underlying employment contract in various ways at that point a judge will say no that non-compete is not enforceable," Jess said.
He says he often sees companies send employees letters threatening legal action, but doesn't always see the employer follow through on that letter.
"We'll scare you into believing it's enforceable therefore you comply even though you may not need to under the law, but it is a very difficult situation for employees," Jess said.
One subjective factor to consider, according to Jess, is fairness.
"Has the employer treated the employee in a way that under the law you would say it's really not fair under these circumstances to enforce this?" The answer is yes and no depending who you ask.
Jess says the best way to avoid this problem is to never sign a document limiting your rights.
"Be very cognizant of what you sign. So many employees will think, ‘Hey I need a job I'll sign whatever you need me to sign. I'll worry about the rest later.’”
But Jess warns that is a bad idea. “The best way to avoid a non-compete is to never sign one in the first place.”
These employees had some rights, but failed to exercise them.
They got letters in the mail from the bankruptcy attorneys. The men say they dismissed the letter as just another notice of the bankruptcy they already knew about.
If they hadn't dismissed the paperwork, they could have gone to bankruptcy hearings and argued their case to the bankruptcy court. The outcome could have been different.
In all bankruptcy cases, you have a right if you are a creditor; whether it's an employment issue or a product you bought from a bankrupt company but never received. You have the right to argue your case to be reimbursed or credited if monies allow.
What Do You Think?
The men are now left looking for jobs along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans.
They are angry with the delayed notice of the enforcement of the non-compete contract, and don't understand why some contracts were purchased and others weren't.
They also don't understand why Arrow allowed other prospective employers to recruit the employees, and wonder if they took those jobs if there non-competes would have been enforced as well.
"I want to see everybody get out of their non-competes so everyone can start making a living and taking care of their families," Matt Murphy said.
Should the No-Compete Agreements be Valid? Tell Us What You Think by Posting a Comment Below!
