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A contract of employment is a contract by which one person, called the employer, engages another person, called the employee, to do something for the benefit of the employer or a third person for which the employee receives compensation. The contract may be oral or written [, express or implied in fact]. | TOP |
A termination of employment by an employer may be either actual or constructive.
It is actual when the employer notifies the employee, orally or in writing, that the employment is terminated.
It is constructive when an employee resigns because an employer acting directly [or through persons effectively representing such employer, namely an [officer] [director,] [managing agent] [or] [supervisory employee]] either intentionally creates, or knowingly permits to exist, working conditions that are so intolerable or aggravated at the time of the resignation that a reasonable employer would realize that a reasonable person in the employee's position would be compelled to resign.
[Adverse working conditions must be unusually aggravated or amount to a continuous pattern before the situation will be deemed intolerable.] [Single, trivial, or isolated acts of misconduct by an employer are generally insufficient.]
[The length of time an employee remains on the job following the onset of the claim of adverse working conditions is a fact you may consider in determining the intolerability of employment conditions from the standpoint of what a reasonable employee would have done under the circumstances.] | TOP |
The plaintiff __________ [also] seeks to recover damages based upon a claim of breach of a contract of employment having no specified term as to the duration of the employment.
The essential elements of such a claim are:
1. There was a contract of employment between the plaintiff and defendant having no specified term as to the duration of the employment;
2. Pursuant to the employment contract, defendant employer was subject to an [express] [or] [implied] obligation not to discharge plaintiff, except for good cause;
3. Plaintiff's performance [, unless excused];
4. Defendant breached the employment agreement by [constructively] terminating plaintiff's employment without good cause; and
5. The termination caused plaintiff to suffer injury, damage, loss or harm. | TOP |
The plaintiff __________ [also] seeks to recover damages based upon a claim of breach of a contract of employment for a specified term.
The essential elements of such a claim are:
1. There was a contract of employment between the plaintiff and defendant having a specified term for the duration of the employment;
2. Plaintiff's performance [, unless excused];
3. Defendant breached the employment agreement by [constructively] terminating plaintiff's employment before the completion of the term without good cause; and
4. The termination caused plaintiff to suffer injury, damage, loss or harm. | TOP |
The plaintiff __________ [also] seeks to recover damages based upon a claim of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, arising out of a contract of employment.
The essential elements of such a claim are:
1. There was a contract of employment between plaintiff and defendant;
2. Plaintiff's performance [, unless excused];
3. The defendant, as employer, engaged in conduct, separate and apart from the performance of obligations under the contract, without good faith and for the purpose of depriving the plaintiff, as employee, of rights and benefits under the contract;
4. Such conduct caused plaintiff to suffer injury, damage, loss or harm. | TOP |
The plaintiff __________ [also] seeks to recover damages based upon a claim of wrongful termination of an employment agreement in violation of public policy.
The essential elements of such a claim are:
1. There was a contract of employment between plaintiff and defendant;
2. Defendant [constructively] terminated plaintiff's employment in violation of public policy; and
3. The termination caused plaintiff to suffer injury, damage, loss or harm. | TOP |
An employment contract having no specified term may be terminated at will by the employer by giving notice to the employee, unless the employer and the employee have [expressly] [impliedly] agreed that the employee will not be discharged except for good cause. | TOP |
An obligation in an employment contract for an unspecified term not to discharge an employee except for good cause is express when the employee and employer have agreed with one another orally or in writing that the employee's employment will not be terminated except for good cause. | TOP |
NOT TO TERMINATE EXCEPT FOR GOOD CAUSE
An obligation in an employment contract for an unspecified term not to discharge an employee except for good cause is implied and becomes a term of that contract even though not expressly stated by the employee and employer, when from all of the circumstances surrounding the employment, whether from words or conduct, it is reasonable for the employee to conclude and believe and the employee does conclude and believe that the employment will not be terminated except for good cause.
Factors which you may consider in determining whether there is such an implied agreement include, but are not limited to: [the duration of employment,] [promotions of the employee,] [salary increases to the employee,] [commendations to the employee,] [awards to the employee,] [lack of criticism of the employee's work,] [assurances by the employer that the employee will continue to be employed,] [the employer's acknowledged employment policies,] [the employer's custom and practices with respect to employee's,] [__________ (other factors)]. | TOP |
Where there is an employment agreement not to terminate an employee except for good cause, an employer may not terminate the employment of an employee unless such termination is based on a fair and honest cause or reason. In determining whether there was good cause, you must balance the employer's interest in operating the business efficiently and profitably with the interest of the employee in maintaining employment. Care must be exercised so as not to interfere with the employer's legitimate exercise of managerial discretion. The scope of such discretion is substantial but not unrestricted. | TOP |
An employer, who without good cause, terminates a contract of employment that contains an [express] [or] [implied] agreement that the employee will not be terminated except for good cause, is in breach of the contract. | TOP |
If defendant breached the employment contract with plaintiff, plaintiff is entitled to recover monetary damages caused by the breach.
Damages for breach of the employment contract are the amount of compensation agreed upon for the period determined to be a reasonable period that plaintiff's employment would have continued but for the breach of the employment contract less any compensation actually earned by the employee during that period.
Such damages may also include: ____________________ (items of damage in evidence, e.g., consequential financial damage, etc.). | TOP |
An employee who was damaged as a result of a breach of an employment contract by the employer, has a duty to take steps to minimize the loss by making a reasonable effort to find comparable employment.
If the employee through reasonable efforts could have found comparable employment, any amount that the employee could reasonably have earned by obtaining comparable employment through reasonable efforts shall be deducted from the amount of damages awarded to employee. | TOP |
A contract to employ another for a period greater than one month is a contract of employment for a specified time.
An employer may not legally terminate an employee hired under an employment contract for a specified term prior to the expiration of the term of the contract, unless the employer has good cause for doing so. | TOP |
Good cause for termination of an employment contract for a specified term exists when there is a [willful breach of duty by the employee in the course of employment,] [or] [habitual neglect of duty by the employee in the course of employment,] [or] [continued incapacity of the employee to perform the duties of the employment.] | TOP |
An employer, who without good cause, under an employment contract for a specified term, terminates an employee before the end of the term, is in breach of the contract. | TOP |
If defendant breached the employment contract with plaintiff, plaintiff is entitled to recover monetary damages caused by the breach.
Damages for breach of the employment contract are the amount of compensation agreed upon from the date of breach to the date on which the contract was to have terminated.
Such damages may also include: __________ (items of damage in evidence, e.g., consequential financial damage, etc.) | TOP |
In every contract of employment there is an implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing upon each party to the contract that neither party will engage in conduct for the purpose of denying to the other the benefits of the contract. If any party to the contract violates that obligation, that party is in breach of the employment contract and is liable for damages. | TOP |
An employer who acts in good faith on an honest but mistaken belief that discharge of an employee is required by a legitimate business reason has not breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. If you find that defendant honestly believed that the termination of plaintiff was for a legitimate business reason, you must find for defendant even if defendant was mistaken in that belief. | TOP |
If defendant breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, you will award to plaintiff such damages as were caused to plaintiff by such breach. Such damages must include: __________ (items of damage in evidence, e.g. value of the loss of compensation and benefits, consequential financial damage.) | TOP |
The termination of an employee by an employer in violation of public policy is a wrongful termination. An employee who was terminated in violation of public policy is entitled to recover damages from the employer. | TOP |
A wrongful constructive termination in violation of public policy occurs when an employee resigns because of conditions of the employment, and (1) the working conditions that caused the employee to resign were violative of public policy; (2) such conditions were so intolerable or aggravated at the time of the employee's resignation that a reasonable person in the employee's position would have resigned; (3) the employer intentionally created, or knowingly permitted to exist, such intolerable conditions; and (4) a reasonable employer would have realized that a reasonable person in the employee's position would be compelled to resign.
The public policy of the [State of California] [United States] is:_________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
An employee who sustains damage caused by a wrongful constructive termination in violation of public policy is entitled to recover reasonable compensation for such damage. | TOP |
To establish a termination of employment in violation of public policy, it must be established that [plaintiff's employment was terminated as a result of the defendant's violation of a public policy.] [the termination of plaintiff's employment was a violation of public policy.]
The public policy of the [State of California] [United States] is: ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ | TOP |
If you find that plaintiff is entitled to recover damages for a wrongful termination in violation of public policy, such damages must include: [the value of any loss of compensation and benefits under the employment contract] [any consequential economic damages] [any damages for emotional distress suffered by plaintiff] [__________ (other)]. | TOP |
A contract is an agreement between two or more persons to do or not to do a certain thing or things.
A [valid] contract requires:
1. Parties having legal capacity to contract;
2. Mutual consent;
3. A lawful objective; and
4. A sufficient consideration.
[In this case, [the parties were legally capable of contracting] [,] [there was mutual consent] [,] [there was a lawful objective] [,] [and] [there was sufficient consideration].] | TOP |
A contract may be [express] [or] [implied in fact] [,] [or] [implied in law].
[In an express contract, the existence and terms of the contract are stated in words or the writings of the parties.]
[In an implied in fact contract, the existence and terms of the contract are inferred from the conduct of the parties].
[In an implied in law contract, or a quasi-contract as it is sometimes called, a duty or obligation is created by law for reasons of fairness or justice. Such duty or obligation is not based upon the express or apparent intention of the parties.]
[The distinction between an express and an implied in fact contract relates only to the manner in which the agreement is shown. Both types are based upon the express or apparent intention of the parties.] | TOP |
A contract may be oral, written, or partly oral and partly written. [Unless some law provides otherwise, an] [An] oral, or a partly oral and partly written contract, is as valid and enforceable as a written contract. | TOP |
When the parties orally or in writing agree that the terms of a proposed contract are to be reduced to writing and signed by them before it is to be effective, there is no binding agreement until a written contract is signed.
This rule does not mean that a contract already reduced to writing, and signed, is of no binding force merely because it contemplates a subsequent and more formal instrument. [If the parties have orally agreed on all the terms and conditions of a contract with the mutual intention that it shall thereupon become binding, but also agree that a formal written agreement to the same effect shall be prepared and signed, the oral agreement is binding regardless of whether it is subsequently reduced to writing.]
Whether it is the intention of the parties that the agreement should be binding at once, or when later reduced to writing, or to a more formal writing, is an issue of fact, and is to be determined by reference to the words the parties used, as well as upon all of the surrounding facts and circumstances. | TOP |