|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | OCTOBER 15, 2002 SMART ANSWERS By Karen E. Klein No Erasing the Letter of the Law Draw up an employment agreement in haste, regret it at your leisure. That's the lesson this business owner is learning -- the hard way
A: Your wife has created a real dilemma for herself. The issue is whether or not the letter created a contractual obligation with this employee, or if it gave the company an out -- perhaps by including provisions stating that the employee could be terminated under certain circumstances before the three-year period expired. If the letter does indeed constitute a legal contract, and your wife breaks that contract by firing her office manager or refusing to give her a raise, she and the company will be wide open for a lawsuit. Even though the letter did not state that this office manager would be an "at will" employee, the general rule is that an employee is "at will" unless there is an employment agreement that states that the job will last for a particular duration, says Michael Karpeles, who specializes in employment law with Chicago-based Goldberg, Kohn, Bell, Black, Rosenbloom & Moritz. If the employee is "at will," then she can be terminated without further obligation. THE SELF-MADE TRAP. "The question in this case is whether the structure of the compensation arrangement implies that the office manager will be employed for at least three years, or only that she will be paid a certain amount if she remains employed during that period," Karpeles says. "To determine that, all of the facts and circumstances relating to how the offer was prepared, and what was discussed between the employer and the employee, would have to be evaluated. Perhaps an employee handbook, for example, says that all employees are at will. That could be significant." Because the offer letter can be interpreted ambiguously, your wife should consult a qualified employment attorney before taking any action, Karpeles says. "Employers need to be careful of creating such contractual obligations for just the kind of reasons presented here," says Mae Lon Ding, president of Personnel Systems Associates, in Anaheim, Calif. If you want to be helpful, get your wife an appointment with an attorney who specializes in employment issues, and pronto. She will need the time to assess her options before January rolls around.  Have a question about running your business? Ask our small-business experts. Send us an e-mail at smartanswers@businessweek.com, or write to Smart Answers, BW Online, 46th Floor, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Please include your real name and phone number in case we need more information; only your initials and city will be printed. Because of the volume of mail, we won't be able to respond to all questions personally. Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | OCTOBER |
 Copyright 2002, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
Printer-Friendly Version
