What to do if I am an exempt employee and have been suspended for “soliciting employees”?
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What to do if I am an exempt employee and have been suspended for “soliciting employees”?
They are claiming that I am promoting and encouraging an employee to take a job with another company. In reality, on break, we talked through the perks of joining the other company but I never signed a no solicitation contract. Is this suspension legal? Can they terminate?
Asked on April 20, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New Jersey
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The fact that you exempt from overtime (which is what "exempt" means in an employment law context) is irrelevant.
If you do not have a contract protecting your employment, your employer may take action against you for speaking to another employee about working for a different company; they could write you up, suspend you, demote you, transfer you, cut your pay, or even terminate you. The absence of a non-solicitation agreement means they cannot sue you for monetary damages or for a court order prohibiting you from speaking to their other employees about alternative employment; however, in the absence of a non-solicitation agreement, your employer is free to not employ you (i.e. to fire you) or to take any lesser discriplinary step--unless, as stated, you have an employment contract whose terms would protect you.
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