Legal Question in Technology Law in California
Can an employer hire a consultant to do a particular job as it states in the contract, Then after hire, restrict the consultant from properly accomplishing what the consultant was hired to do? In addition complain and scrutinize the job the person is doing? And finally be terminated as a result of not properly accomplishing what needed to be done. In essence, being set up to fail. This is in the field of technology. It's like hiring a mechanic to fix cars, then once the guy starts working they tell him all the tools in the shop belong to the chief mechanic along with the smog testing machine, tire alignment machine, etc. and i'll need to ask him if i can use the tools. The guy feels his job could be threatened so he says "no", you cant use the tools. New guy goes to the boss bewildered and says,
"how can i do the job i was hired to do, with no tools"? and in addition i cant use my own tools while working in their shop. The boss says, Figure something out...?
New guy cant properly fix a customers car due to the situation, and he gets terminated. I used the auto mechanic analogy because it's something simple and clear that even a child can understand.
If i put it in a technical sense , the question would be harder to understand with the verbage etc...
But ultimately it's comparable to what i just endured with my former employer...
1 Answer from Attorneys
It seems pretty silly of the client to pay a consultant big bucks and then impede progress. Probably legal, though. In the future, the consultant may want to add a clause or two to his contract obliging the client to provide reasonable cooperation and otherwise facilitate achieving the agreed-upon objectives. I know lawyers have similar contract problems with clients.
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