Is an email a binding agreement?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is an email a binding agreement?
I was offered another position with another school, after getting confirmation from my current school about my pay through email. I decided to stay. My current job has decided that they don’t want to honor the pay. What can be done?
Asked on August 13, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You say you received "confirmation" of your pay. An enforceable agreement requires two things:
1) An intention to form an agreement--if you were just asking what they are or are thinking of paying you and did not indicate that you had another job offer and would leave unless they paid you a certain amount, there would be no intention on their part to enter into an agreement; they were providing information, not contracting.
2) Consideration, or something of value--if you were already working there, there would be no consideration for the pay they told you about--you were not giving up anything for your wage or salary beyond the work you were already doing. (You'd have to give up something of value *beyond* the work you're doing anyway to provide consideration).
From what you write, it appears there was no enforceable agreement.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.