How to Deal With Unfair Contract Signed with Employer

[venkat]

Sorry to go off-topic..Please move it to appropriate thread once the gurus have weighed on this

Hi Guys,
I'm silent follower/admirer of this forum. I'm in need of your esteemed opinion.
My 485 was filed back in January this year - At that time my employer (a consulting company based in NJ) asked me sign an agreement which was absolutely ridiculous but I'd no other option but to sign it -- in addition to collecting 4000 odd dollars (for both me and my wife) he mentioned in the agreement that i've to stick with him either 2 years from the date of agreement or 2 years after getting the GC whichever is longer.
I'm in EB2 with priority date of April 2008 located in North Carolina. I've been working for a client on EVC model for the last 3 years and the client is offering full time position (i can take that position on July 15th as i would have completed 180 days by then) which i would love to take. But as per my agreement i'm not supposed to do that. Also the agreement says if there is a Breach of contract then it will fought in a NJ court as per that state laws.
I need your advice How do i go about in this scenario?

[qesehmk]

Sorry to go off-topic..Please move it to appropriate thread once the gurus have weighed on this

Hi Guys,
I'm silent follower/admirer of this forum. I'm in need of your esteemed opinion.
My 485 was filed back in January this year - At that time my employer (a consulting company based in NJ) asked me sign an agreement which was absolutely ridiculous but I'd no other option but to sign it -- in addition to collecting 4000 odd dollars (for both me and my wife) he mentioned in the agreement that i've to stick with him either 2 years from the date of agreement or 2 years after getting the GC whichever is longer.
I'm in EB2 with priority date of April 2008 located in North Carolina. I've been working for a client on EVC model for the last 3 years and the client is offering full time position (i can take that position on July 15th as i would have completed 180 days by then) which i would love to take. But as per my agreement i'm not supposed to do that. Also the agreement says if there is a Breach of contract then it will fought in a NJ court as per that state laws.
I need your advice How do i go about in this scenario?
So if it will be fought ... you will probably owe him 4000 dollars. I don't see any other things in the contract. I think 4K is a good price to pay for breach of contract. The new employer probably will easily pay much more than that.

[venkat]

Thanks Q.

But it was me who paid the $4000 for my 485....why do you say i owe him $4000

[qesehmk]

Sorry. I misread. In that case you don't even owe him that. What does the contract say if it is broken. What do you owe him?
Thanks Q.

But it was me who paid the $4000 for my 485....why do you say i owe him $4000

[venkat]

It says that if the agreement is breached then employee will pay the company all legally allowable immigration, administrative costs and loss of business revenues including but not limited to lost profits within seven business days. Employee will be liable for legal costs incurred enforcing this agreement in the event a court of law finds Employee has breached it. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of State of New Jersey.


Sorry. I misread. In that case you don't even owe him that. What does the contract say if it is broken. What do you owe him?

[qesehmk]

That's quite a lot to ask!! A lawyer review is in order.

If I were you I would ask the next employer to review the contract and see if their lawyers provide some advice and/or also cover any costs if the former employer sues. A simple pressure tactic from the employer will also work given that your current employer will certainly be interested in not making his client angry by suing you if you have the client at your back.

In terms of legality of the contract - it could be legal - the only thing I can think of is whether coercion is legal? Only a lawyer can tell you that.


It says that if the agreement is breached then employee will pay the company all legally allowable immigration, administrative costs and loss of business revenues including but not limited to lost profits within seven business days. Employee will be liable for legal costs incurred enforcing this agreement in the event a court of law finds Employee has breached it. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of State of New Jersey.

[vizcard]

that "loss of business revenues" language is quite vague. How does your company engage with the client ? I expect the contract is for a certain period in which case it might be good to know where in the current contract you are. If its early in the contract, then the "loss of business revenues" could be significant. If its towards the end, it might be relatively low. Also, since this agreement is only specific to GC and you have already paid $4000, I imagine that's about 40-50% of the incurred cost.

Talk to a good employment contract lawyer.

[hopehope]

It says that if the agreement is breached then employee will pay the company all legally allowable immigration, administrative costs and loss of business revenues including but not limited to lost profits within seven business days. Employee will be liable for legal costs incurred enforcing this agreement in the event a court of law finds Employee has breached it. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of State of New Jersey.

In my office, I had seen indian employer had written such contract with employee. Employee and his new company gave threat for legal action to indian employer for visa related irregularities for his other employees and questionable pratices. The indian employer got scared and changed his behavior.

Any indian employer with such agreement will have all the issues that you can think off. It is a mind game than anything else. In your company, your employer would not have pursued legal action at anyone - as employer knows he will be in bigger trouble.

Get in touch with smart Indian lawyer and you can leverage that.

[venkat]

Thanks for all your answers/suggestions.

Looks like the consensus is to get my agreement reviewed with a reputed 'HR/Employment/Non compete' kind of lawyer in the NJ area.

Can anyone suggest one?

This is a very important point in my life and going on estimates it may be easily more than a year before I get my GC.

[srimurthy]

Just a few thoughts, gurus can correct me:
1. It would be more of a breach if the GC is in approved state, but right now we are saying I am no longer interested in the sponsored GC byt he Employer and leaving.
2. Hope you made the payment of $4000 through a check or a credit card transaction and not cash or deduction before payroll running. Then you have a track to prove that you made the payment for GC application which may by default ground him. If it was cash or deductions, then its a little difficult to track and show the links.
3. Do you have a copy of the whole agreement? That would be needed in case you are reaching out to a lawyer.


Thanks for all your answers/suggestions.

Looks like the consensus is to get my agreement reviewed with a reputed 'HR/Employment/Non compete' kind of lawyer in the NJ area.

Can anyone suggest one?

This is a very important point in my life and going on estimates it may be easily more than a year before I get my GC.

[GCKnowHow]

Check with your client if they have a non-compete agreement with your employer, also have you signed non-compete with your employer. If this non-compete exists then it could be troublesome for all parties involved. Also check the type of contract, if its a right to hire (lots of them are) then its very easy if you client initiates this process and everything can be done simple and easy. You have to look into the client contract for more info, i know you cant look at it, check your manager to look for details. If the client is big enough, they can just pressure your employer too.

[venkat]

Thanks once again guys. I paid 2000 in the form of check and 2000 in terms of salary deduction. I will try to check with my client to see if they have right to hire me but then there is a vendor in between my employer and client.

i've the copy of agreement with me.

how to go about finding a good lawyer to review my agreement? -- just Google may not be helpful because we don't know who we may get..if you know someone (preferably in NJ) who specializes in such agreements please let me know...i'm willing to pay the money for piece of mind....

[miller]

you should go for other contract should fight in court.As you are getting more benefit and you should be rational.You should take calculated risk and avail a new good chance.