Q: Employer reneged on agreement to raise annual pay due to layoffs, is that legal?
My former employer breached an agreement to give me a 10K raise. I went to an interview for another job the same day my then-current employer announced layoffs. The job offer came well after the layoff announcement. Upon receiving the higher-paying offer, I resigned. Before accepting my resignation, my employer asked that I give him time to counter. He countered offering me $10K more, and I accepted the offer, which was contingent upon me declining the other offer. About a week later, my employer reneged on the agreement and said they could only offer 5k rather than the 10K agreed upon. As a result, I immediately resigned. I have since taken the company to small claims for breach of contract and they are claiming that case law indicates that they can reduce the amount of an agreed-upon raise due to company performance/layoffs. The layoffs were not an issue when the offer was extended/accepted and raises were given after I left. Do I have an argument? Please help!!
A: Yes you do have an argument in your favor for breach of contract. You need to emphasize the offer they made to you, the fact that you excepted the offer, and then their breach by failing to follow through and actually pay you what you were promised as an inducement for you to stay with the company. But since you are in small claims court, you now cannot have a lawyer represent you. What you need is to find a paralegal or a law student to do use the legal research and write a brief for you, and help you put together your evidence for the small claims court.
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