OK, so I know you’re not a lawayer, or you are a lawyer but not my lawyer, this isn’t legal advice, etc.
So, I work as an employee at will. I was offered a lateral move to a newly-created job on a new team the other day. I emailed the supervisor of that team that I accepted the offer with a couple of conditions, including that “if this doesn’t work out” I can return to my previous job on my previous schedule. She emailed back tat she agreed to those terms.
So, offer, counter-offer, acceptance, consideration on both sides, sounds like a contract. So do I now have a written contract guaranteeing continued employment at my current job for as long as I’m working at the new job? Or does the at-will nature of both jobs supercede whatever she’s put in writing?
No worries, I’m not planning on relying on anything here as legal advice, this is just a hypothetical that happens to have actually happened.
Maybe. You haven’t used any electronic signature to verify your identity in any of this, so technically none of this carries the weight of a written document. However, if you both stipulate your identities and that the emails are indeed yours, then they indicate the intent to be bound, and a judge will very likely enforce the terms.
However, at-will trumps everything if you don’t have a specific time clause in your employment agreement. If the boss is able to convincingly argue that you were (a) not needed any more or (b) fired for cause, then the agreement is a Kleenex ™ in the breeze.
However, if she agreed that the move would not affect your hiring status, and you can convincingly argue that you were dismissed on that acocunt, the emails will be of great benefit to you.
I think you’re still an at-will employee. Based on your description, I don’t think the exchange of e-mails is definite enough to create any kind of employment contract. Most importantly, it (apparently) does not specify a term for your new position. I think it’s understood that you’re trading one at-will position for another.
It is possible that the exchange of e-mails might give you certain limited contractual rights. I would analogize the situation to cases where a new employer offers (at-will) employment to the employee, the employee accepts, and then the employer rescinds its offer before the employee starts working. Under such circumstances, I believe that some (but not all!) courts hold that the employer has breached a duty to give the employee a good faith opportunity to perform the job for a reasonable period of time.
Similarly, you might be able to argue that the employer must give you a good faith chance to perform your new duties for a reasonable period of time, depending on the law in Wisconsin.
It sounds like you are talking about a transfer within the same company, so your at-will arrangement is not affected.
Conditions like the ones your future boss expressed in the email are usually not enforcable practically, especially since she (probably) has no authority to enter into a contract on behalf of the company. At best they are expressions of good faith. If conditions beyond her control change (e.g., her team loses funding, your performance falters, you don’t like the job), she can’t guarantee that your old boss would still take you back, or that you would still have a job at all with the same company.
So you are still employed at will, therefore you could still be released without cause, there is no guarantee of what will happen if you decide you don’t like the new job. You can stand there with the email in hand and people will say, “Gee, things changed.” That’s pretty much my experience from a practical standpoint.
I think you’re still an at-will employee. Based on your description, I don’t think the exchange of e-mails is definite enough to create any kind of employment contract. Most importantly, it (apparently) does not specify a term for your new position. I think it’s understood that you’re trading one at-will position for another.
It is possible that the exchange of e-mails might give you certain limited contractual rights. I would analogize the situation to cases where a new employer offers (at-will) employment to the employee, the employee accepts, and then the employer rescinds its offer before the employee starts working. Under such circumstances, I believe that some (but not all!) courts hold that the employer has breached a duty to give the employee a good faith opportunity to perform the job for a reasonable period of time.
Similarly, you might be able to argue that the employer must give you a good faith chance to perform your new duties for a reasonable period of time, depending on the law in Wisconsin.
I think you have one, but I’m much less sure a court would agree with me. Also, employment is heavily regulated enough such that basic contract principles do not always apply. Regardless, the agreement only covers what a disinterested observer reasonably would believe it covers. Probably this means that if your boss has in fact committed himself to hold your old job open, it’s only for a limited period of time. (Because if it were indefinite, you’d reasonably expect that to be disussed in more detail.)
–Cliffy, Esq.
As you’ve noted, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. I no nothing about employment law or Wisconsin, nor do I have anywhere near the facts to give you competent legal advice in this area.