Q: My employer requires me to be available 40 hrs/week, 5 days a week. I’ve only worked 5 hours. Can I find part time work?
Employer made me sign a contract and said I have to ask and be approved to work at another business within the same industry (flight instruction). There is a termination fee of $2500 if I breach the contract or quit before 12 months working for them.
A: I do not believe either provision in your contract is enforceable. The financial “penalty” of $2,500 smacks of an unenforceable penalty; however, if it is tied to an actual out-of-pocket cost to the employer, such as reimbursement for a paid training course the employer incurred to train you in the job, then it might be upheld. As for the prohibition of working for another employer in the same field, that is almost certainly unenforceable. Take the contract to an employment attorney to review. I would make sure you’re paid first for the time you worked before quitting so the employer doesn’t dock your pay to cover all or part of the $2,500 (which may also be illegal but why take the risk if not being paid?). Then let the employer sue you if they want. Chances are, they won’t, since it would cost them more in attorney fees to pursue than they’d recover.
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