Is this contract binding?

[Anonymous]

OP nannies are at-will hourly employees. It doesn't matter what you sign, you can't change the job category that the federal and state govt classifies you in. An at-will employee can quit and must be paid for all hours worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP nannies are at-will hourly employees. It doesn't matter what you sign, you can't change the job category that the federal and state govt classifies you in. An at-will employee can quit and must be paid for all hours worked.

What are you talking about? Quitting immediately and being paid for hours worked have nothing to do with being at will. And you can change your status by contract because the employment laws about at-will are just defaults.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I gave my bosses my notice on Thursday and they were awful about it. They came about as close to yelling at me as it's possible to do. I left in tears and now I'm terrified to go back to work on Monday. I'm thinking about not going back at all because of how they treated me. I've never done anything like that before but my nerves have been shot all weekend because of their reaction to me leaving. I knmow it's unprofesional, I know it's a horrible way to leave. But I can't deal with anymore of the verbal abuse. I'm not even going to send a text. I'm going to drop all of their keys and nanny credit cards in the mail certified (so that they have to sign for it and I have proof they received it) first thing Monday morning. I'm going to ignore all calls and texts from them unless they mention lawyers, in which case I'll mention that I would like for us to cut ties entirely, but if he feels it is necessary to get lawyers involved then I will be contacting the IRS about their 2 years (me and the past nanny) of unpaid taxes. And since they both have federal jobs they can't afford a federal criminal record.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am so sorry those parents have treated you so badly. I would not go back there either, unless they apologize.

[Anonymous]

One thing to keep in mind op is a certified pkg doesn't guarantee you mailed the keys and cc, it just guarantees you mailed SOMETHING. I went through something similar a couple of yrs ago and my brother, who is an employment law attorney, said your best bet is to video record yourself (or have someone else record you) dropping the items off. In my case the family had a mail slot that went straight into the house. I elected to mail and it worked out (it was time sheets so I could prove hrs worked, not house keys and credit cards.) For your items I would definitely hand deliver so you have PROOF you dropped them off.

[Anonymous]

Op here: that's an excellent idea! I wonder if I could have an officer drop it off for me? What are your thoughts? I'll either have someone video me inserting and mailing the package or have a cop drop it off.

[Anonymous]

I doubt the police have time to drop off your packages. Hopefully, they have more important things to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A contract is not legally binding if items in the contract are, themselves, illegal. If your contract has any stipulations regarding being paid off the books, or if it has any clauses that discuss taxes etc. that were not paid, the contract is null.

So the fact that a nanny is "at will" makes the contract null and void?

[Anonymous]

Ok OP, you should know that by law the employer bears responsibility for taxes - even if your contract says the employee will pay them. The employer is ALWAYS liable for unpaid employee taxes, the IRS even advises against employers relying on employees to pay the taxes because of this. Also, you can not contract to engage in illegal activity. If I contracted to pay someone to steal, for example, that thief could not take me to court for unpaid fees. Similarly, your employer can not take you to court to enforce an agreement to pay you off books. But, more then anything, none of it matters because the law will not honor forced employment - it touches a bit too closely on the issue of slavery, even though you consented in this case. At most, a court would bar you from competing with your employer or sharing confidential information.

I suggest you lick your wounds and try not to make a bad situation any worse. Plus, get on a trustworthy website and learn how to draft a decent contract. Why would you ever have agreed to be responsible for all taxes if you thought that agreement was actually enforceable???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok OP, you should know that by law the employer bears responsibility for taxes - even if your contract says the employee will pay them. The employer is ALWAYS liable for unpaid employee taxes, the IRS even advises against employers relying on employees to pay the taxes because of this. Also, you can not contract to engage in illegal activity. If I contracted to pay someone to steal, for example, that thief could not take me to court for unpaid fees. Similarly, your employer can not take you to court to enforce an agreement to pay you off books. But, more then anything, none of it matters because the law will not honor forced employment - it touches a bit too closely on the issue of slavery, even though you consented in this case. At most, a court would bar you from competing with your employer or sharing confidential information.

I suggest you lick your wounds and try not to make a bad situation any worse. Plus, get on a trustworthy website and learn how to draft a decent contract. Why would you ever have agreed to be responsible for all taxes if you thought that agreement was actually enforceable???

NP here. Thanks, pp.
So it's true what someone said in another thread, that most of what goes in nanny "contracts" is nothing but a Gentlemen's Agreement?

[Anonymous]

This thread is 2 years old and you are talking to yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is 2 years old and you are talking to yourself.

[Anonymous]

And people still don't know the answers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And people still don't know the answers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You've been taken advantage of, OP. You can report them and they'll likely have to pay you back wages.

+1

They'll have to pay you back wages, their employer tax, and won't have any ground to enforce or pursue ANY part of the contract that stipulates how long you have to work for them. The terms of the contract were illegal so OP, you're fine. Don't back down just get OUT of there.

What back wages? They only owe the government taxes.