# Employee Offer Letters v. Contract or Fraud Lawyer > Attorneys to find out if you can sue for employer broke offer letter, contract, or fraud pwed commissions or wages Source: https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/offer-letters/ Firm: Employment Lawyers Group — employee-side employment lawyers since 1993. Serving Kern County, California. Phone: (661) 412-9600 (calling is the fastest way to reach the legal team) Office: 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield, CA 93309 Contact form: https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/contact/ Consultations are free and confidential; cases are taken on contingency. --- Presuming an employee is going to make a big career move, what should they do before they quit their old job? Obviously, the best thing is to get the new employment offer in writing, but most employers do not do that. Even if the employer puts the job offer in writing, it might not have a legal effect. A job offer might merely state the position, maybe the start date, and maybe the salary. That is something, but what about the fundamental nature of the job (duties, length, locations of work, scope of work)? If the employee actually starts working for the company and signs an at-will acknowledge, or receives a company handbook and signs for it, it is very likely they are signing a statement attesting to the fact they do not have a contract for employment, one would have to be in writing and signed by a high up executive, and any prior statements about the employment are agreed not to form a contract. At that point does the job offer have any legal effect? If the employee never ends up working for the company, the offer letter might be capable of being used for promissory estoppel. If that is the case, call (661) 412-9600 and speak to an experienced employment lawyer. ## **EMPLOYEE SALES COMMISSION CONTRACTS AND OFFER LETTERS** Hopefully, if an employee is going to earn sales commissions, that is specified in an initial job offer. Nebulous, vague offers about the ability to earn commissions may not translate into courts believing the employee and the employer had the same understanding about what those commissions are going to be, or even if there would be commissions paid to the employee. In addition, oral commission agreements are problematic. Many lawsuits involve oral commission agreements. Under California law employers are supposed to put agreements to earn commissions in writing. The employer should provide a copy of the signed agreement. Unfortunately, there are many cases about which contract applies, which commission rate applies, and exactly what was agreed to and known by both sides (the employee and employer). There also might be a lengthy attach to the commission agreement that is more important than the first part of the commission agreement. Call (661) 412-9600 if you do not think you have been properly paid your [sales commissions](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/unpaid-wages/). The statute of limitation does not allow you to go back forever in time so it is important to start a case like this as soon as possible. Sometimes employees lose out on entire years of commission underpayments because they wait too long to bring the case. ### **WHAT IS EMPLOYMENT FRAUD AND HOW CAN IT BE PROVEN?** Why are you being offered this job? Is it because somebody is on a leave of absence, maybe medical leave, and they're going to come back? If that was not disclosed to you, that is a recipe for disaster. It could be a situation in which you were intentionally mislead about the longevity of the position. Suing an employer for fraud is difficult. The misrepresentations have to be intended to deceive. If the misrepresentations were not believed, or were puffing, the situation might not be fraud. Employee lawyers have to specifically allege fraud in the lawsuit. This is a higher standard than is usually required to plead a lawsuit. Names, dates, and specific dates are needed. Employment fraud often involves false representations about the nature of the job. This could include stating a title and job responsibilities the employer has no intention of giving the employee. Changed circumstances between hire and the representations may not be fraud. Circumstances the employer knows will change may create fraud if the existence of those circumstances were not disclosed. California Labor Code Section 970, which has a provision for treble damages, envisions employers who get employees to move in order to take a job. In those situations the pay might be drastically different than what was represented, the nature of the job might be different in terms of duties, or the job could be for a very short time to finish a specific task or fill in for somebody but the job was represented to be a permanent full-time job. However, representations and changed conditions that are not material do not amount f The only way to determine if there was employment fraud is to speak to an experienced employment attorney. Even then, it might be up to the court to decide if the situation amounts to fraud. **Call (661) 412-9600** to speak to an experienced California employee lawyer who can advise whether it is worth pursuing a case for employment fraud. ## Our Firm: No Upfront Fees or Costs ### Contingency Fee Representation All employment cases for employees are taken on a **contingency basis**. We are only paid a fee **when and if we win** your case, and we **advance all litigation costs**. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee. ### Serving Kern County We have proudly served all of Kern County since 1993. Ready to discuss your case? (661) 412-9600 Submit A Contact Form The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled 2,000+ Separate California Employment Cases ## Media Engagements ## Sample Case Results breach of commission contract $1,150,000 Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs unpaid wages $875,000 For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call forced to work without pay standby pay case $800,000 Controlled stand by class action settlement Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case. ## Practice Areas [Discrimination Age, Disability, FMLA/CFRA, Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation discrimination claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/discrimination/) [Unpaid Wages & Overtime Recovering earnings for overtime, bonuses, commissions, meal & rest break violations, and prevailing wage claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/unpaid-wages/) [Sexual Harassment Compassionate and effective representation for sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/sexual-harassment/) [Wrongful Termination Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and federal law.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/wrongful-termination/) [Leaves & Retaliation Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/leaves-of-absence/) [Whistleblowers Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse under California and federal whistleblower protection laws.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/whistle-blower/) ## Our California Locations ### Bakersfield [BakersfieldLaborAttorney.com](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com) 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield CA 93309 [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) ### Los Angeles [EmployeeLawCA.com](https://employeelawca.com/) 611 Wilshire Blvd, #1023, Los Angeles CA 90017 [(323) 525-1600](tel:3235251600) ### Orange County [WorkLawyerOC.com](https://worklawyeroc.com) 2522 Chambers Rd, #100, Tustin CA 92780 [(714) 210-8000](tel:7142108000) ### Riverside [RiversideEmploymentLawyer.com](https://riversideemploymentlawyer.com) 9496 Magnolia Ave, #208, Riverside CA 92503 [(951) 367-1000](tel:9513671000) ### Sacramento [SacramentoLaborAttorney.com](https://sacramentolaborattorney.com) 777 Campus Commons Rd, #200, Sacramento CA 95825 [(916) 340-0000](tel:9163400000) ### San Bernardino [EmploymentAttorneySanBernardino.com](https://employmentattorneysanbernardino.com) 337 N. 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Market St, #300, San Jose CA 95113 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### Sherman Oaks [WorkLawyerCA.com](https://worklawyerca.com) 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks CA 91423 [(818) 783-7300](tel:8187837300) ### Torrance / South Bay [JobTerminationLaw.com](https://jobterminationlaw.com/) 3655 Torrance Blvd, 3rd Floor, Torrance CA 90503 [(310) 842-8600](tel:3108428600) ### Ventura / Oxnard [VenturaEmploymentLawyer.com](https://venturaemploymentlawyer.com) 4030 West Hemlock St, Oxnard CA 93035 [(805) 200-0100](tel:8052000100) ### Additional Sites [BostonLaborLaw.com](https://bostonlaborlaw.com) [DcLaborAttorney.com](https://dclaborattorney.com) [FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://fresnoemployeelawyer.com) [JobLawyer.net](https://joblawyer.net) [MarylandLaborAttorney.com](https://marylandlaborattorney.com/) [ModemStud.com](https://modemstud.com) [VintageLosAngeles.org](https://vintagelosangeles.org) [WorkplaceLawyer.org](https://workplacelawyer.org) ## About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber Firm Founder, **Karl Gerber**, has been an employment and wrongful termination attorney since **1993**. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California. Mr. Gerber has won **51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials** he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation. The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been **extensively trained on employment and wrongful termination law by Karl Gerber**. [Meet Karl Gerber](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/karl-gerber/) ## Ready to Discuss Your Case? Your rights as an employee matter. Submit a contact form and we'll get back to you. Submit A Contact Form [Call (661) 412-9600 Now](tel:6614129600)