Suing for Breach of Employment Contract and Wrongful Dismissal in Louisiana
If you have a fixed-term employment contract in Louisiana and are fired without a good reason, La. Civ. Code art. 2749 gives you the right to sue for your full salary for the entire remaining time on the contract.
While most workers in Louisiana are "at-will," meaning they can be fired at any time, a select group of employees operates under formal, written employment agreements. When an employer signs a contract promising you a job for a specific amount of time, they give up their right to fire you on a whim. If they fire you before the contract ends without a valid, legally justified reason, they have committed a breach of contract.
Louisiana law heavily protects workers who are unfairly dismissed under a contract. If you are dealing with a broken contract in Shreveport, Lafayette, or Baton Rouge, having a skilled attorney from our US Lawyer directory review the document is your best first step to securing the money you are owed.
Step-by-Step Process to Prove a Breach of Contract
To win a lawsuit for breach of employment contract, you cannot simply say the firing was unfair. You must prove specific elements in court, initiating the legal action by filing an individually drafted petition for breach of employment contract pursuant to La. C.C.P. art. 891 alongside the mandatory Form Appendix 9.6, Louisiana, Supreme Court, Civil Case Cover Sheet under Rule 9.6 of the Rules for Louisiana District Courts.
Fixed-Term Contracts
The most powerful protection comes from a "fixed-term" contract. This is an agreement that explicitly states you are hired for a definite period, such as exactly two years. Under La. Civ. Code art. 2749, if you are hired for a definite time and fired "without any serious ground of complaint," the employer owes you the salary for the unexpired time of the contract.
A critical point in Louisiana law: simply being paid an "annual salary" does not automatically mean you have a one-year fixed contract. The contract must clearly state the duration of employment. The courts upheld this strict interpretation in precedents like Andrepont v. Lake Charles Harbor & Terminal District, 602 So. 2d 704 (LA Supreme Court 1992), confirming that fixed-term employees wrongly fired get paid for the rest of their term.
Union Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs)
If you are a member of a labor union, your employment is governed by a massive contract called a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). These contracts almost always state that you can only be fired for "just cause" (a good, documented reason). If you are fired without just cause, you usually do not go straight to a judge. Instead, you must follow the union's internal grievance procedure governed by 29 U.S.C. § 185 and take the dispute to binding arbitration. If the termination also constitutes an unfair labor practice, an employee or union representative may file Form NLRB-501, FED, National Labor Relations Board, Charge Against Employer.
Executive Offer Letters
High-level executives are often lured to new companies with detailed offer letters. An offer letter can serve as a binding contract if it includes guarantees about severance pay, stock options, or guaranteed terms of employment. If a company fires a CEO to avoid paying out a promised end-of-year bonus detailed in the offer letter, the executive can sue for breach of contract to recover those specific financial damages.
Damages Strictly for Contract Breaches
In a pure breach of contract case, the damages you can win are generally limited to your financial losses. This includes your lost wages (the remaining salary on the contract), lost benefits, and potentially attorney's fees if the contract specifically says the winner of a lawsuit gets their legal fees paid. In Louisiana, you generally cannot win money for emotional distress or "pain and suffering" in a standard breach of contract case, unlike discrimination lawsuits.
How Much Does it Cost in Louisiana?
Filing a breach of contract lawsuit in a court like the 1st Judicial District Court, Shreveport or the 15th Judicial District Court, Lafayette will require filing fees of approximately $250 to $450. Unlike civil rights cases, some lawyers may require an hourly fee (ranging from $250 to $500 an hour) for contract disputes, though many will still take strong cases on a contingency fee (taking a percentage of the final payout).
How Long Does the Process Take?
Contract disputes can be heavily contested because businesses do not want to pay for work you did not perform. A straightforward settlement might take 4 to 8 months. If the case requires a full civil trial, expect the process to take 1 to 2 years. In Louisiana, the statute of limitations to sue for a breach of a written contract is generally 10 years, but it is always best to act immediately while evidence is fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is considered "just cause" to fire a contracted employee?
Just cause typically includes severe misconduct, like stealing from the company, chronic unexcused absences, failing to perform the basic duties of the job, or threatening violence in the workplace.
Does an email count as an employment contract?
It can. If an employer makes clear, definitive promises in an email regarding the length of your employment or severance guarantees, and you accept the job based on those promises, Louisiana courts may view the email as a binding written contract.
Can I get my job back if my contract is breached?
Generally, no. Courts rarely force an employer to rehire a fired employee (a remedy called "specific performance"). Instead, the court will force the employer to pay you the money you would have earned if they had not broken the contract.
What happens if the company goes bankrupt?
If the employer files for bankruptcy, your breach of contract lawsuit will be paused. You will become a creditor in the bankruptcy case, meaning you might only receive a fraction of what you are owed, depending on the company's remaining assets.
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