Training Contracts 2

[Foobar]

Its not that you are forced to sign the contract, it’s that it is non-negotiable. If you were offered the job and were told at the time there was a contract then it’s negotiable. You can say, no thank-you, I’ll stay where I am. To wait until after an employee has resigned a current position, and is now without pay or health insurance, to bring out the contract renders it non-negotiable. You can’t refuse to sign it; you are stuck with no job. That’s the issue.

 

[Thedude]

I am not absolutley sure of the legal term but in laymans that would be known as signing a contract under undue-duress and would probably be thrown out of court.

 

[Jack Schitt]

Yes, you can refuse to sign it. It's your choice to sign or not. If you agree with the terms you sign, if you don't agree with the terms you don't sign. Simple as that. All this undue-duress stuff is a bunch of b.s. Prove it to the judge. You two are going for the sympathy vote and I'm saying it'll be a tough sell in court. This is not the only job in the country. You can always go to Wal-Mart or Home Depot to find employment. No one is stopping you from working just because you want this job but you don't want to sign an agreement. I think you're confusing the word unfair with illegal. Life isn't always fair.

 

[Foobar]

http://globeandmail.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/legspeak/20031022/ls20031022?section=legspeak

"Quite often, employers spend a great deal of time, human resources and money drafting and crafting an employment agreement that contains all the right phrases and clauses, only to learn later that the court will not enforce the agreement, most particularly because of the manner in which it was entered upon"

"Present the agreement as part of or along with the offer of employment - timing is everything.... Since consideration, or the giving of something of value to the other party, is critical to creating an enforceable contract, it is essential that the employer wishing to provide a prospective employee with a written bargain, do so as part of the offer that is being extended of employment. That will maximize the opportunity at a later date to argue that the employee was free to accept those terms or walk away from the deal. The employee who chooses to accept those terms will have received "legal consideration", in the sense that he or she received the offer of employment, a part of which were the terms and conditions set out in writing; "

As I was saying, its about negotiability. If I have quit my job and accepted a new one and I am presented with an employment contract the first day it’s non-negotiable. Yes it is possible to refuse to sign it, but doing so would mean you would get no pay check, you’d have no health insurance and you’d probably miss your house and car payments. Thus a judge would likely say the contract was non-negotiable as the company put you in a position where you could not refuse to sign it. This is different than a contract presented with an offer. How often do you guys get the contract and the offer at the same time? I’m betting not often at all. If that’s the case you have a largely unenforceable contract. Of course it varies from state to state as contract law is primarily a state matter, not a federal one.

 

[jarhead]

If I am not mistaken, The U.C.C. (Uniform Commercial Code), is valid in 49 of the 50 states, with Louisiana being the only state not a signatory to the U.C.C. and they have their own unique code, which is similar in most respects. With so many contracts that cross state lines, it was determined to be necessary to have a common set of "rules" that could be enforced across state lines. Most breach of contract suits that go to court, will have the attorneys referring to articles in the U.C.C. to make their case for their respective parties.

 

[Jack Schitt]

OK Foobar, you proved me wrong. It is good to know, however, that if the company is open and honest about a training contract then you will be held responsible for violating the contract.

Can we agree that it's not worth spending $20k in legal fees in order to skip out on a $15k training contract?