Can an employer change a document a status change after I have signed it?
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Can an employer change a document a status change after I have signed it?
My employer changed a document that I signed after I had already signed it,
without my knowledge or consent. I do the filing, and found it as I was filing,
and my pay rate has been marked through, and a lower pay rate has been written
beside it. If I had not seen it, no one would have told me it happened. Do they
have the right to do this? And yes, I am looking for another place to work, is
anyone hiring an administrative assistant?
Asked on October 12, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Your employer cannot change a contract after you signed it: if they do, you could sue them for "breach of contract" to recover what you are owed under the unmodified, original contract. But if it was not a contract, while they technically cannot change it, it does not actually matter if they did: anything not "locked in" by a written contract is something the employer may change at will. So if, for example, you did not have your pay rate guaranteed by an actual written employment contract for a set period of time (e.g a one-year contract), your employer could simply change your rate/pay whenever they wanted. (That is a consequence of "employment at will," which is the law of the land in the absence of a contract.)
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