A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Breaking contract/suing - peaches

Posted: Apr 03, 2012

I'm working for a small company and upon initial hire, I signed a contract stating I need to give 14 days notice if I quit. Can they sue me for breaking the contract if I don't give notice? I've had something come up where I'm not able to work for them any longer and 14 days notice is just not feasible for me.

I believe so if you signed a contract that says so - nm

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.

Why - would they

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Why would they sue you? That doesn't make any sense to me. If you can't work there, you can't work there. They probably still have the resumes of the other people who applied.

Are you IC and able to flex your schedule? - sm

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Because if you are IC and work at your leisure, is it possible for you to just cut back hours for the last 14 days and work the very minimal amount when you are able?

I once worked as an IC and quit without notice and signed a contract, but did not get sued.

I'm an IC, but - peaches

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They expect us to work a set schedule with no leeway.

It would cost more money for them to pay a - lawyer, take you to court to

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try to sue you then it would for them to cut their loses for the 2wks worth of work you would have given them.

I mean think about it, lets just say they make $2500 dollars off of you for the two weeks of work you do, it would probably cost them $2500 dollars alone just to get a lawyer to take the case, not to mention all the other things involved in law suits.

I think they would probably have enough sense to cut their losses and leave it alone, as it would cost them more to sue you then what they would have made off of you had you worked the 14 days out.

Relax. No one's going to sue you. - Berta

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In the first place, it's too expensive.

In the second place, it takes too long.

In the third place, a lawsuit is extremely disruptive to any business operation. They can't hope to gain by doing so because the only award they might get would be very small.

What does happen sometimes is that an MTSO will withhold final payment of money they owe you on some excuse or other and dare YOU to sue THEM.

There is no legal requirement for a 2-week notice. - n/m

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x

Similar thing but at private practice - Angie

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I know this is not exactly same situation, but similar. Girl just quit here Friday after 6 years, no notice,nothing. But it was half way through a pay period. Handbook says u have to give a 2 week notice unless circumstances don't allow....they are trying to NOT pay her for the week she worked. I would get my money before I quit. Maybe do the minimal so you don't lose too much??

Private practice - Anonymous

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Most places prefer that you give 2 week notice. I work for a private practice and it is in our employee handbook, but it is not the law. Some places will not pay the balance in your PTO account if you don't give notice, some will withhold pay, as you state. Giving notice is common courtesty. Every employer handles it differently. Sometimes it isn't possible for employees to do this as in the case of the OP, but I've never heard of anyone being sued. I would think it would be appropriate to speak to the employer, that way there would be no surprises. Leave on good terms, and your chance of getting all the money you are owed will be much better.

They don't have to pay PTO/vacation time but they - laws

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do have to pay final wages whether an employee quits or is fired. In most states, an employer has until the next scheduled payday or 72-hours to pay the employee. If they fail to pay an employee their final wages, the employee can sue for up to three times their wages.

employee is different thant contractural, tho. - nm

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x

I quit without a two-week notice a couple of - worked for my check

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months ago for a small MTSO and I still have not received my final paycheck. The night I quit, there were no jobs to transcribe. There were quite a few nights with no work. I don't think a handbook is going to holdup in a court of law. In my opinion, it is theft of wages when an MTSO doesn't pay an MT. After all, as MTs we get paid by the line and the MTSO will turn around and charge their clients/hospitals for work we transcribed. Also, I wonder if an MTSO decides not to pay an MT, if they report those earnings to the IRS or not.

take them to the labor board - agree- wage theft

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It is against the law to not pay employees for work performed. No notice required.

Thank you for your reply. I sent her a certified - worked for my check

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letter requesting my wages and she ignored me. I see that she is advertising for MTs on job seekers too. Maybe I should mention the "no payment" to MTStars too. I am probably not the only MT she hasn't paid.

Quitting without notice - me too s/m

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I quit without notice. My company is in the process of downsizing anyway due to lack of work. I felt there was some not-so-subtle hostility from them when I gave notice, but I'm under the impression that the only real ramification is that I'll be ineligible for rehire by them in the future. I did this one other time in my long career and just wiped the dust from my feet and moved on. I have paystubs to prove that I had a long and productive career with them, and pages of 100% quality audits by them. If they declined to hire me at some point in the future, it would be their loss, not mine.

If a potential employer wants details about why I left on questionable terms, I'll have a brief (businesslike, unemotional) statement prepared that makes me look like a rational person who took proactive steps to rectify an otherwise lose-lose situation. I would be especially cautious not to suggest to a potential employer that I had a litigious bent by getting all accusatory and angry (even though I feel that my employer showed an almost frightening lack of ethics).

I don't think they'll withhold my last paycheck. I would hope they wouldn't stoop that low, but stranger things have happened. It won't be much, for sure, but I would be aggressive about getting $$ for work already done.

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