Judge Prevents AT-WILL Employees From Accepting Better Offers At A Competing Hospital

So get this, now a judge can block YOU from taking a better job at another company even though you have zero obligation or contract to stay at your $hitty job. A judge has blocked 7 healthcare workers from starting at another healthcare company because their current employer took it to an idiot judge who thinks we the people are slaves to our employer. At least that is how I am reading this.

Judge allows healthcare system to prevent its AT-WILL employees from accepting better offers at a competing hospital by granting injunction to prevent them from starting new positions on Monday

www.postcrescent.com...

ThedaCare requested Thursday that an Outagamie County judge temporarily block seven of its employees who had applied for and accepted jobs at Ascension from beginning work there on Monday until the health system could find replacements for them.

Each of them were employed at-will, meaning they were not under an obligation to stay at ThedaCare for a certain amount of time.

Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis granted ThedaCare's request and held an initial hearing Friday morning. The case will get a longer hearing at 10 a.m. Monday.

A Thursday statement from Ascension said the employees were not recruited but instead decided to apply for open job postings. It was Ascension's understanding that ThedaCare had the opportunity to make counter-offers but declined, the statement said.

a reply to: infolurker

Seems pretty unconstitutional to me. I just wouldn't show up. If you want to keep paying me you can pay me with my vacation time.

Pretty sure it wouldn't hold up in a higher court, but that takes time. I'd suddenly suffer from debilitating migraines if I worked there.

Perhaps the judge needs looking into.


My consliracy brain says this is vast judicial overreach that weve seen happen quite often lately.

This is not just constitutional, but I don't think you could find a fiction writer that would think this is a believable scenario for their post-apocalyptic dystopia. Just reading the arguments, these people are being force to justify a career move????????????? The commute is .2 mi shorter is enough reason, or the parking lot is shady, or I don't have to make a left turn. Nobody said to the judge "excuse me sir, but you can't tell me where to work"???????????????

Wouldn't show up? I would show up at the new place & ignore this BS.

a reply to: bounder

I'm with you. I'd show up for the new job anyway.

originally posted by: JinMI
Perhaps the judge needs looking into.


My consliracy brain says this is vast judicial overreach that weve seen happen quite often lately.

Employers are debating ways to screw employees over. Here is an example:

The Great Resignation: A new idea for keeping employees on the job (Against Their Will)

If an employee quits and challenges enforcement of the employment agreement, there are ways that employers could increase the likelihood that it would be enforced by a court.

One way would be to include a liquidated damages provision in the employment agreement. This provision would require an employee to pay a fixed amount should the employee quit for a reason other than as specified in the agreement The employer’s damages would be the cost in time and money to replace and train a new employee as well as any loss in revenue until a trained replacement is productively working again. Enforceability of the employment agreement would be from the perspective of reasonable damages rather than as a hammer to force the employee to continue to work.

To make this workable for an employer, liquidated damages employment provisions should not be the same in employment agreements for all employees. At a minimum, the amounts of damages should range based on several factors, including the reasonable cost of replacement/training and the loss of revenue(usually other than for “good cause” as defined by the agreement).

See that? If your employer ever wants you to sign a Liquidated Damages contract, leave. They will generally force you to pay for your replacement with an unspecified and surely outrageous amount of money enforced by a court.

You want to leave your job? Well, you have to pay 120K for your replacement and loss of revenue.

Tell me this isn't indentured servitude.

Hey, how do we fool these idiots into signing such a thing?

This is not an issue for new employees, because the new employment itself would provide consideration for an employment agreement containing a liquidated damages provision. But for existing employees, the continuation of employment in exchange for signing such an agreement would be problematic.

However, consideration can be provided by a raise, a promotion or another change in the terms of employment that would benefit the employee. In other words, the employer would be saying if you want this good change, you need to sign this new agreement with liquidated damages.

This is an option to consider to ameliorate what is likely to be a big problem for employers.

The first step would be to have a carefully and well-drafted employment agreement with the liquidated damages provision discussed above.

a reply to: infolurker
Getting pretty crafty dismissing the jab mandates aren't they? Other's simply quit?

Ascension must not be pricking employees?

It's what's not being said that should be yelled from rooftops and street corners, isn't it?
🙏❤
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Noted. 👍

Not surprised.

a reply to: infolurker

And you can almost guarantee companies with that make you sign an arbitration agreement.

My last job made us sign one after already being employed.

How can a company force you to sign an agreement? It's not an agreement if it's forced.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

It's not forced, you can not work there. This is actually something that IS forced as they aren't letting them leave.

a reply to: infolurker

There's a hospital here that has been making all new hires sign an agreement to pay back something like $5000-$10000 if they leave within the first 2 years of employment.

a reply to: VierEyes

You can't show up to the new job, but you also don't need to show up to the old one.

a reply to: CriticalStinker
...preaching to the choir 👍

How can a company force you to sign an agreement? It's not an agreement if it's forced.

unconscionable

§ 2-302. Unconscionable contract or Clause.

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(1) If the court as a matter of law finds the contractor any clause of the contract to have been unconscionable at the time it was made the court may refuse to enforce the contract, or it may enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or it may so limit the application of any unconscionable clause as to avoid any unconscionable result.

(2) When it is claimed or appears to the court that the contractor any clause thereof may be unconscionable the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its commercial setting, purpose and effect to aid the court in making the determination.

compromised judge?

Unconscionability

Primary tabs

A defense against the enforcement of a contract or portion of a contract.  If a contract is unfair or oppressive to one party in a way that suggests abuses during its formation, a court may find it unconscionable and refuse to enforce it.  A contract is most likely to be found unconscionable if both unfair bargaining and unfair substantive terms are shown.  An absence of meaningful choice by the disadvantaged party is often used to prove unfair bargaining.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: infolurker

And you can almost guarantee companies with that make you sign an arbitration agreement.

My last job made us sign one after already being employed.

How can a company force you to sign an agreement? It's not an agreement if it's forced.

Yes, mine already tried.

You had to proactively "opt out" by a specific date and if you did not you were automatically moved into the employer payed for arbitrator agreement.

Of course we all took the time to "opt out" and printed the confirmation.

When your employer is paying the arbitrator, how do you think that is going to go for you?

Something that would be typical in NK and China. I wonder why... hmmm...?

a reply to: infolurker

Gotta say, the health care workers opened the door up for these types of infringements themselves when they spent the last 2 years wallowing in self adulation over being considered "essential front line workers." I disagree fully with the judge and would expect a higher court to slap his ruling down swiftly, BUT this is why a number of professions need a serious reality check. They aren't heroes, they aren't gods, they are simply individual human beings who are actually performing the job they chose at a pay rate which was acceptable to them at the time of their hiring. When those egos start hyperinflating, however, then you open the door up for people to legitimately say "Well, if you want us to hold you on par with military heroes, then perhaps we should start treating you like we treat the military: both the good treatment and the bad treatment."

Judges aren't incorruptible. Money talks...

If I was in that situation I would do the most autrageist thing to get fired. And then sue because this ruling created a contract of sorts.

originally posted by: infolurker

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: infolurker

And you can almost guarantee companies with that make you sign an arbitration agreement.

My last job made us sign one after already being employed.

How can a company force you to sign an agreement? It's not an agreement if it's forced.

Yes, mine already tried.

You had to proactively "opt out" by a specific date and if you did not you were automatically moved into the employer payed for arbitrator agreement.

Of course we all took the time to "opt out" and printed the confirmation.

When your employer is paying the arbitrator, how do you think that is going to go for you?

if they reimbursed all my med school, i'd think about it.

and what training? showing me where the toilets are?

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

And give up the opportunity to go into the Administration area and shout into an empty room with no witnesses "Get your *redacted* out of the printer, it's not a *redacted* toy! And simply state its too traumatizing to talk about if anyone (hopefully HR) asks questions.