Employment breach of contract in California. Contracts are drafted, negotiated, and signed every day in this country.  Employment contracts in California are sometimes designed to cover a precise time period, with or without options to renew the contract at a particular point. In other situations, teams are involved in collective bargaining for entire groups. What happens when one party does not live up to his or her end of the bargain? That is precisely when having an experienced contract law attorney in your court can make a huge difference.

What is Meant by Breach of Contract?

When one party fails to live up to a legally enforceable contract, or promise, it is breach of contract. In California labor law, an employee handbook or other policy statements might be considered contracts, in addition to more formal documents drawn up between particular parties.  In the case of employee handbooks and written policies, the courts generally have found that statements within them are express promises. Even though California is a right to work state, these express promises must be adhered to.

Implied promises might be based on past history or length of service. It is the type of promise most California employers have with employees who have not negotiated individual contracts.

In determining wrongful discharge, the California Supreme Court ruled that employers must act in good faith when firing a contracted employee. The case of Cotran v. Rollins Hudig Hall International, Inc., 948 P.2d 412 (Cal. 1998) involved an employee who was terminated on the grounds of sexual harassment. Even though the employee denied the accusations, it was found that since the employer had acted based on a true and sincere belief that the harassment had occurred, the termination was not a breach of contract. The foundation for the court’s decision revolved around the idea that an implied contract, or promise, existed between the parties, wherein the employer’s “reasonable” belief in a good cause for termination was sufficient for termination procedures to take place.

In contrast, contracts obtained through collective bargaining are held to a different standard.  Here, employees may not be terminated without proof of guilt. There are seven tests for just cause in due process hearings for these types of employees:

• The employee must be afforded adequate notification of rules and sufficient warning that the employer is aware of a problem;
• The issue must be one defined as real by a reasonable person;
• There must be a complete investigation;
• The investigation must be impartial and objective;
• There must be conclusive proof of an infraction;
• Rules and consequences must be administered uniformly,
• The discipline or consequences must be reasonable.

Your Experience with a Breach of Contract

If you have entered into a contract and are dissatisfied with the other party’s response to legal employment commitments, enlist the services of the accomplished California labor and employment law attorneys at Beck Law P.C. Employment laws are complex, but our experienced team will work aggressively to ensure proper enforcement of your contract. Call our Santa Rosa office for a consultation today.

BECK LAW P.C. – SANTA ROSA – PETALUMA – UKIAH – LAKE COUNTY