Leaving job without notice period on H1-B

[RajSharma]

    I am currently working as a contractor (H1-B) and just accepted full time position with other company. 

After my visa got transfered  I informed my current employer about the termination and I told him 

that I will be leaving job in couple of weeks. He told me that two weeks notice time is insufficient and I am 

supposed to provide him one month of notice time (as per offer letter )

   He also told me that I will loose my salary if I leave before one month. I told him that I can only give you two weeks of notice but he did not agree. So I just stopped going to client location after one week of notice 

time.So he started pushing me and threatening me go and work for client or he will take legal actions against me.

 

The Clause in my offer letter is as following 

 

3. Period of Employment.  Your employment with the Company will be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company will be entitled to terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. You are required to give a notice of 30 days to terminate the employment. Failing to give appropriate notice may result in losing the salary or other entitled compensation. Any contrary representations, which may have been made to you, are superseded by this offer. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company on this term.  Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures, may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

 

It seems very oxymoronic . It says the employment is of type "at will"and also they are talking about 30 day 

notice period.

 

Can someone please explain to me what it really means and does my employer has rights to take legal actions against me. 

 

 

 

 

   

[omshiv]

For the layman..it seems your employer is right..you need to give 30 days notice. Just sit with an Attorney.

 

I would say just forgo the 1 month salary and join FT.

[JoeF]

This contract looks a bit one-sided, and indeed contradicting.

At-will employment means just that, the employment can be terminated at any time without any notice period.

A 2-week notice is just a courtesy.

Requiring a notice here from the employee, and not having a notice period from the employer seems one-sided.

Anyway, the best thing is to have the contract checked with a labor lawyer.

[pontevecchio]

• " At-will employees are not required to give notice. According to the at-will employment doctrine, an employee can literally decide one moment to quit his job and walk out the door the next moment. Some companies refer to this type of resignation as job abandonment; however, even job abandonment is not a term defined by federal laws, although certain states use this term concerning claims for unemployment benefits. Many employees inform their employers via resignation letter or oral announcement that they intend to quit. An employee's intent to resign from his job doesn't have to comply with any kind of professional standard or courtesy such as the two-week notice period.

Consequences

• When an employee asserts her rights under the at-will employment doctrine, she could be subject to consequences related to the final paycheck and pay for accrued vacation. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, there is no requirement for employers to give employees their final paycheck immediately upon resignation. That being said, if an employee who resigned doesn't receive a paycheck by the next scheduled payday, the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division provides assistance to employees who call for guidance. The employer's responsibility concerning final pay and compensation for accrued vacation is codified by state law -- not federal law.".