Can my employer cut my total number of annual work days from my contract with no prior notice?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my employer cut my total number of annual work days from my contract with no prior notice?
I work for a school district. For 6 years, I was contracted for 185 teaching days/year. Then, last year, my contract was suddenly reduced to 182 days per year. This is a net income loss of about $700. There was no notification that this was happening, nor has there ever been anything resembling and after-the-fact explanation. The cut has also meant that a staff of more than 30 people cannot have regular staff meetings and get paid for them. Is what the school district did legal in CO?
Asked on October 20, 2010 under Employment Labor Law, Colorado
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Generally speaking contract terms are considered negotiated and binding. Unilateral contracts - where one party can make all the changes to the detriment of the other party - are not considered legal. But without reading your contract it is difficult to say what you have negotiated here and what the school district can and can not do. Is the contract renewed every year? Then could it be that they offered you a "new" contract with reduced days and you accepted by signing? Did you have the right to say no and look for another job? These are all questions that need to be answered as well to give you an idea as to what happened and if it was legal. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.