How can I hold them to a promise to provide training?
I'll just list the facts:
(a) I worked for a company 7 months as a contractor. And my contract expired and I left.
(b) With Y2K coming up fast and desperate for programmers, they offered a full time employee position. In fact it was so difficult finding programmers with my skill set, it took more than a year to find 1 more programmer (after me).
(c) First I flatly refused.
(d) They upped the "offer" by promising training and exposure to other technology I might find usefull in my career (after 3 to 6 months of being employee status).
(e) With the promise I accepted the offer. At the time I had another offer from different company (at contracting rate).
(f) After waiting 1 year 5 months, they layed off 5 programmers (including me). I received 1 training course (after much arm twisting from me) but I never received the promised exposure. The company is offering 6 weeks severence pay.
(g) Now I'm on medication for anxiety (from being fooled and being betrayed).
(h) Do I have a case? What if they "promise" was not in writing but still an open knowledge?
Thanks
Answers (1)
Technically, you probably have a claim. It is a type of claim which rarely succeeds because the plaintiff rarely has the right set of fact, but I believe you just might have it. It is basically an implied contract claim. That the agreement was not in writing would make no difference.
However, I have serious questions whether it would be worth the effort to pursue. Basically, the questions is: What are your damages? I see only the cost of a course or two. There might be a claim that, if the employer had fulfilled its promise to you, your employment value would have been enhanced. However, that is a highly speculative claim, and it seems like something that would be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove.
I hope this answer helps.
posted by David M. Lira | Feb 11, 2001 6:48 PM [EST]
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