"WALKING AWAY" from a USA Contract; What can happen?

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It is true that in the USA there is no "debtors prison" so if you owe money to an individual or company, you will not receive jail time. BUT, and this is the thing you should pay attention to, if you walk out on a contract and you owe money to your hospital, agency or individual that sponsored you, you can be sued in a US Federal or State District Court for monies owed.

If you do not defend yourself in court, or if you go to court and you loose the case, the court may issue a "judgement" against you. Contracts are very important in America and courts can take very harsh actions against those who willfully "breach" a contract, or "walk away" from an obligation to perform under a US contract.

If you are found guilty of breach of contract, the judgement the court issues will be honored in all US States and Territories FOR A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS after the judgement is entered. These judgements also carry interest rates (typically 10% interest per year) in addition to the judgement amount. The judgement may also include all legal fees and court costs to be paid by the loosing party.

What the judgement against you allows is that any sheriff in any county or state can now serve a "writ of garnishment" against you with your new employer, forcing your new employer to send a big part of your salary to the court to pay off your judgement. Also, this garnishment can extend to include your bank account, your automobile, and all property you may own. In addition, a judgment is entered against you on credit reporting agencies, which can have a very damaging effect on your credit rating and prevent you from buying property, renting an apartment, or opening a bank account!!! Your judgement may also be "sold" to a collection agency and the new owner can track you down and collect all money owed against the judgement. They can track you through your social security number, passport, credit card use, Nursing License, drivers license,and even utility bills such as telephone, electric and water bills. All of your information is online on the internet so don't expect to hide from a judgement for very long.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

If you feel you have been forced into a bad contract, get legal advise from a competent attorney immediately. Your attorney can prevent breach of contract through negotiations with your agency, hospital or individual and make a settlement offer to relieve you of your contractual obligations. Also, your attorney may sue in court on your behalf to ask the court to set aside the contract. Either way, you will not face the legal problems that befall you for simply "walking away"

In summary, BE SMART and carefully read your contract prior to signing on!! BE HONEST and never enter into a contract with the intention of "walking away" as soon as you get your greencard. The creditors will hunt you down and make you pay dearly in the long run for failure to honor your contract.

As for those who "Brag" about walking away, kindly point out to them that it would be wise to sleep with one eye open at all times for that knock on the door with the sheriff or constable handing you a notice of garnishment and cleaning out your bank account for THE NEXT 10 YEARS!!

Hoss

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Thank you Hoss. That was really really informative! Now I know that the issues about nurses breaching contracts doesn't end on transfering from other employers...

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

I also think that if the same group of people walk away from a contract with either 1 hospital of group of hospitals it will become a lot harder to get petition for others who want to work as said hospitals, they will become very wary due to time and money they loose

Nice post Hoss

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Specializes in ER, Telemetry, Transport Nursing.

Bravo Hoss

thank you!!

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What about a non compete clause breach? In a nutshell- for 3 years I traveled to a small hospital in N. Michigan with travel company A. Then, after finishing my contract, I switched companies and went to Arizona for the winter with company B. I love company B and want to stay with them and go back to the N. Michigan hospital I was previously at. They have an opening at the hospital and want me back, but company A got wind of it and stated that I cannot work there in any form or fashion unless I am with them. They faxed me a copy of my original contract from almost 4 years ago and it does state in so many words that I can't work there for a year. My new company says that company A cannot enforce it. Is this true. Can I be sued for breach of contract? Do travel companies pursue cases like this? Any advice will helpful. thanks.:bluecry1:

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"Non-compete" contracts are quite common in the USA. However, courts have set limits of geography to non competes (usually 50-150 miles radius). In other words, a non-compete for a nurse in California would be limited to so. Cal if in Los Angeles, or North. Cal. if in the Bay Area. They cannot prevent a nurse from working in Nevada or Arizona, for example. Otherwise, a non-compete contract could prevent you from working ANYWHERE in the USA for a year or more, so that is way out of bounds in the eyes of the court. Naturally, your company wants you to believe you cant work anywhere else, but YOUR lawyer will advise you otherwise, so see what your attorney can interpret as to how "limited" geographically the courts will set the agreement. I doubt anyone can stop you from going to another state to work, period. But get a good legal opinion prior to making your final decision

Hoss

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