K signed a contract with an outfit in NJ, Shady Tech Consultants, Inc., which sponsored his visa. Shady Tech Consultants, Inc. subcontracted him out to another consulting firm, Shady in An Ordinary Way Consulting Firm, LLC. Shady in An Ordinary Way Consulting Firm, LLC contracted with my employer for a 6 month to hire deal for my friend k. (from what my boss tells me, some of these consulting gigs can have layer upon layer of consulting firms taking a cut along the way)
6 months are up and my employer wants to hire him. Great. No obligation to Shady In An Ordinary Way, LLC. He's free to be hired by the employer.
Glitch is, Shady Tech Constultants Inc., made K sign a contract saying that he had to work for Shady Tech Consultants, Inc. for 18 months. No guarantee that he'd have steady work, only that he had to work for 18 months and wasn't free to leave and work for another consulting company or for an regular employer without penalty.
My employer's lawyer said the only thing they could do is sponsor him for his visa so Shady Tech Consultants Inc can't take it away and send K back to India. That's one less thing they have to hold over him. But my boss is concerned that Shady Tech Consultants Inc will still try to make him hold to the 18 month contract because his contract also says that if he breaks it, by taking a job with another company, then he has to pay penalties and the legal fees.
K can't just negotiate with Shady Tech Consultants Inc. because he says they will revoke is visa immediately -- just for bringing it up.
My boss thinks K should talk to an attorney to find out if there's anything he can do. Or at least have an attorney handle the negotiations.
Anyone know of an attorney who might deal in these issues? Shady Tech Consultants is located in NJ. I haven't seen the contract to know if the contract is binding in that state or another. My friend currently resides in Va.
Any leads at all would be terrific. Also, if you know of any online groups he might join that might be useful, that's another option. Feel free to pass this and my email address along to anyone or any group you think might be of help. IS there an advocacy group he might call?
We went to the local India festival a couple of weeks ago. It occured to me that he could get in touch with that group to ask around. But I'm guessing that the contract is binding in NJ or Delaware, a state with no corp. taxes and popular with Shady outfits. :)
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