What You Need to Know About Suing an Employee for Quitting
An employer may not know where to turn when an employee quits. Here’s everything you need to know to answer the question: can an employer sue an employee for quitting?
An employer must have a valid reason to sue an employee for quitting. The employee must have violated previously-signed employment agreements or laws in addition to quitting. At-will employees may quit their job at any time without providing a reason.
At-Will Employment
When beginning a new job, employees must agree to the employment type their employer offers. At-will employment means employers can fire employees without reason. Exceptions to firing an employee with at-will employment include if the employer fired an employee for an offensive, unethical, racist, sexist, or homophobic reason. At-will employment allows employees to resign from work for any valid reason.
Legally, at-will employees do not need to notify their employer before quitting a job. Employers may give their employees termination notice if they are not in mental or physical distress to prepare.
Related: How to Sue Your Employer for Pain and Suffering
Suing an Employee for Quitting
An employer may not sue an at-will employee for quitting for no reason. An employer may attempt to sue an employee if the employee violates certain agreements or laws. An employer can sue an employee if there is a breach of fiduciary duty.
Situations of a breach of fiduciary duty can occur when an employee:
- Self-deals at the employer’s expense
- Provides services for a separate employer against the current employer
- Does not use reasonable care in work duties
- Does not follow the employer’s direct instruction
- Withholds information from an employer
- Discloses confidential information
- Breaks the employment agreement
Related: How to Sue an Employer for Emotional Distress
Reasons an Employer May Sue an Employee
An employer may sue an employee for violating an employment agreement the employee previously signed. An employer may provide terms for job termination even for at-will employees in an employment agreement.
An employer may sue an employee for defamation. Defamation is a public statement identifying the employer in a negative, identifiable way. If an employer finds an employee guilty of defamation after quitting, the employer can attempt to sue the employee.
An employee may fire an employee for tortious interference. Tortious interference occurs when an employee commits an act to hurt the company or the employee-employer relationship. Tortious interference can occur if an employee commits an act on purpose with the intent to lose their job.
An employer might sue an employee if the employee commits an illegal act, such as stealing company property before or after quitting. However, an employer cannot fire an at-will employee simply for quitting their job. The employer can only sue an employee for quitting for an illegal reason or if the employee violated an agreement.
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