At Will Employee can still sue for Fraudulent Representations Allegedly Made at Time of Hire

An employee who alleges he was “induced” to leave his former job because his new employer made false representations concerning long term employment cannot sue that employer for those representations if he signed an “at will” employment contract at the time of hire; however, the employee can sue on misrepresentations concerning his compensation if those misrepresentations are unrelated to his at will status. The case in which these rulings were made is Agosta v. Astor, decided by a state appeals court on July 12, 2004.

According to the appeals court, while the plaintiff could not justifiably rely on a promise of long-term employment if he signed an at-will provision, he could justifiably rely on promises concerning the amount that would be paid to him during the period of his employment.

Intentional misrepresentation is a tort for which the plaintiff in Agosta could recover from the defendant the value of what the plaintiff gave up by leaving his old job verses the value of what he received at his new job. Unlike an action for breach of employment contract, the plaintiff also could recover punitive damages against the defendant for the intentional misrepresentation claim.

Persons wishing further information or who have questions or comments about either this case or any of the cases that have appeared on this website can contact any of the attorneys at Epstein, Turner & Song.