A person who offers a specific service to a business is called a contract employee. Most of the times, the contract employee will have a written agreement with the employer. The expectations of both the employer and the employee will be put down in the agreement. The salary of the employee, the role that he/she will play and the company’s expectations are all stated in this agreement. An employment contract may involve a lot of legal issues which people may not be familiar with. Given below are some important questions about contract employment that have been asked: Can an employer legally expect contract employees to work 14 hours shifts for 7 days a week? In most cases, one will be expected to work the number of hours that are required by the employee and he/she will be paid for that time period unless the contract states otherwise. However, if one is an at will employee, then one will have to work for the number of hours that are set by the employer and will be paid time and a half if the number of hours exceeds 40 hours. Will an employer have the right to hold back an employee’s wages if the employee owes money for damages? The employer may not have the right to hold back the pay of a contract employee without taking written consent from the employee. It will be considered to be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act if the employer withholds the pay without consent. However, the employer can file a lawsuit against the employee for any money owed. What action should a contract employee take if he/she is terminated from work without notice? The contract employee will have to first take a look at the employment contract to see if the employer has violated any clause of the agreement by firing him/her. If the employer does violate any clause, then the help of an employment lawyer may be taken. The lawyer can file a suit against the employer in the event of a violation for wrongful termination and breach of contract. However, if there is no violation of contract, then the employee may not be able to take any kind of action. Is an employer allowed to use “at will employment” in an employee’s contract? Any contracted employee can be hired and fired only on the basis of what is there in the employment contract. In most cases, at will employment may not apply to contract employees. However, certain points and clauses can be added to the contract that will give the employer the right to terminate the contract employee without a notice. The employer can also create a contract which puts down all the terms and agreements of the employment and state that the employee will be an at will employee. Is it legal for a company to pay contracted labor less money when other similar companies are paying more? A company may not be obligated to pay a contract employer the same amount as its competitors. They can set any amount that will be paid to the employees as long as they follow the terms mentioned in the contract. This rule is the same for both contract as well as at will employees. The employee will also have the right to quit his/her job and work with another company if he/she has not signed any contract with the company. Getting into an employment contract can be confusing if you are not used to the legal terminologies that are used in the agreement. You may ask an employment lawyer if you have any questions or need information about contract employment.
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