Sued by employer

V

vj.desi

New Member
Hi,

I came to US last year January and after 7 months I changed my employer from A to B. The employer A is from CA. I got a job after 3 months and in these 3 months I was not paid salary for first 30 days. They started my salary after 30 days but the salary was less than what they offered in offer letter. Anyhow I got a project after 3 months and they asked me to sign a paper in which it was written that I cannot join the client and also I cannot leave the client without notice otherwise I have to pay certain amount of money ('X').

As I was not being paid the full salary as was mentioned in offer letter and also they were not taking my calls or replying my mails for this and also they were not ready to give me money for first 30 days as promised by them so I left the employer A and joined employer B without giving any notice.

Now employer A has sued me and sent a court notice asking me to give X amount of money.

What should I do in this situation. Please advise.

Thanks,
VJ
 
Probably getting a lawyer is the best idea ...
but when you break a contract, you broke it, that's it, so if that is the case, they can sue you. If they broje the other contract, you can probably sue them as well. From what I understand, there's two different contracts..
but you still didn't explain everything, so it's hard to say
 
Thanks for reply.

There are two conditions. In the first condition the employer has broken the contract and in the second I have broken but I broke the contract only because my employer has broken the contract.

It goes like this: I came to US with a salary of 50K and also I was said that I will get paid from the I land in US. When I came here I was told by my employer that I will not be paid for first 30 days and then my salary will start. This was first contract broken by my employer. Then after 30 days they started my salary but it was not 50K but it was 48K and then they told that when I will go to some client then I will be paid 50K. This was second contract broken. Then when after 3 months I got a job and I went to client place but still they were paying me at 48K only. This was third contract broken by them. In the offer letter they told me that my salary will be incremented by minimum 6K after 6 months but it was not done.

In the mean while when I got a job they asked me to sign a paper stating that I will not join the client and also I will give proper notice before leaving otherwise I have to pay 25K. I signed the paper because I was not having any other option other than signing the paper as I got job after 3 months.

After 4 months doing job I left the employer and joined different employer. Now they have sent a notice and they are asking 25K (according to the paper I was bound to sign before going for job). They have broken many contracts.

Hope now the situation is much clear. Now how should I move ahead and what should I do.

Any suggestion/advise will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
VJ
 
The Employer has every right to sue you, if you break contract. But you should also be aware that the employer has to pay you right from the day one on H1b. There is nothing like bench period or waiting period till you got your first project and then they start your salary. You can also report this employer to DOS for not paying you.
 
vj.desi said:
Thanks for reply.

There are two conditions. In the first condition the employer has broken the contract and in the second I have broken but I broke the contract only because my employer has broken the contract.

It goes like this: I came to US with a salary of 50K and also I was said that I will get paid from the I land in US. When I came here I was told by my employer that I will not be paid for first 30 days and then my salary will start. This was first contract broken by my employer. Then after 30 days they started my salary but it was not 50K but it was 48K and then they told that when I will go to some client then I will be paid 50K. This was second contract broken. Then when after 3 months I got a job and I went to client place but still they were paying me at 48K only. This was third contract broken by them. In the offer letter they told me that my salary will be incremented by minimum 6K after 6 months but it was not done.

In the mean while when I got a job they asked me to sign a paper stating that I will not join the client and also I will give proper notice before leaving otherwise I have to pay 25K. I signed the paper because I was not having any other option other than signing the paper as I got job after 3 months.

After 4 months doing job I left the employer and joined different employer. Now they have sent a notice and they are asking 25K (according to the paper I was bound to sign before going for job). They have broken many contracts.

Hope now the situation is much clear. Now how should I move ahead and what should I do.

Any suggestion/advise will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
VJ
Click to expand...

According to the mail, the agreement was not to join the client. Was employer B is the end client? If not then you are okay. Moreover, yes the employer A was supposed to pay you from the day you landed in the U.S. So you have a case indeed. Contact an able lawyer to counter the employer A's notice. Please keep us posted. Good luck.
 
I was just listening to the Jan31_08 conference call with the lawyer here, and here is part of what was said:
you were out of status because you didn't get paid
you can contact the government, (Dont' remember if USCIS, or what agency, maybe DOS as said before) and they will get the company to pay you for any unpaid salary, and that they STRONGLY recommend it, because they made you go out of status and you need to cover your back
 
medavid said:
I was just listening to the Jan31_08 conference call with the lawyer here, and here is part of what was said:
you were out of status because you didn't get paid
you can contact the government, (Dont' remember if USCIS, or what agency, maybe DOS as said before) and they will get the company to pay you for any unpaid salary, and that they STRONGLY recommend it, because they made you go out of status and you need to cover your back
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot medavid. I am surely thinking of filing a case against my ex-employer in DOS as well as in INS. Can you please help me by letting me know how to file a case in DOL and INS. I am new to this country and no idea how these legal things are done.

Thanks in advance.

-VJ
 
When you go for justice- go with clean hands. Else- get ready for a long battle, lot of expenses towards Attorney's fees and sleepless nights.

You also broke contract from your side. The employer has 30 days time to put you on payroll as H-1B applicant has 30 days time to join.

Upon lawsuit from your side- your employer will go ahead and pay for the few weeks he didn't pay and will fulfill his side of breach. However- what will you do from your side? How will you rectify?

Best option is - make an out of court deal with the employer. Both of you broke the contract. Both are guilty. Makes no difference who broke it first. A breach is breach.
 
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