Employee quits job, then agrees to continue working more than the required notice, only to get threatened with lawsuit when they try to leave early: ‘I just want out of this circus’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 29, 2025 5:00 PM EST

There is a notable irony in that most employees are required to continue working for a company even after they announce their intention to quit, but a company is not required to do the same if it decides to fire that employee. Heaven forbid that an employee leaves their company stranded, without replacement, yet a company can toss any employee aside with almost no time to prepare.

Not to mention how awkward it usually is when employees have to keep coming to work for two to four weeks, while everyone already knows they can't wait to get out of there. Prepare for countless conversations about your future, questions about who you are leaving the company for, and half-joking comments about your willingness to leave all the "friends" you made. 

And between all that, do you really think any work is being done? Absolutely not. You are already with one leg out of the door, and you hold no real commitment to this place of work you're leaving; no one actually spends those last few weeks working.

Still, if you decide to quit your job, that is how your next few weeks will probably look, until your last official day on the job.

When the employee in the story below handed in their two-week notice, they thought that was how their last days at the job would look as well, but their company had different ideas. Not only did the company claim that the employee's contract obliges them to provide a 30-day notice, and not two weeks, but they also demanded the employee work until the end of the year, to give them a chance to find a replacement.

Innocently, the employee agreed to stay until December 30th, well over their 30 days of notice. At least that was until they found a new job that needed them to start ASAP. This led the employee to quit (again), effective immediately, thinking they had given more than enough time to the company they are actively trying to leave.

Well, the company had different ideas, and they threatened to sue the employee for trying to leave before the agreed-upon date. Will they succeed with this scare tactic? Keep scrolling to read the full story to find out.

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  • Employer threatening litigation over me resigning TWICE

    Good god almighty. I never thought I'd be finding myself in a position like this. I started a remote job back in March.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Five directors and CEO in meeting
    via simonkr

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Hired for one thing, quickly became a bait and switch and started me on another project with literally no training except a 20 minute phone call.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • The "CEO" is certifiably crazy. Runs the place like a cult. Micromanages EVERYTHING to the point she has to be included in every text message and email.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Anyways I got sick of the awful work culture and put my notice in at the beginning of November.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Said I'd work my 2 weeks and be done. They said actually no, our employment agreement says you have to work 30 days.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • If you refuse, we're taking you to court for breach of contract. So I agreed to do the 30 days.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Somewhere in there, they asked me to stay until the end of the year because they were having a hard time hiring a replacement and wanted me to train them.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • I STUPIDLY AGREED. Well, I landed a new job and they want me to start ASAP so I sent my current employer and email being like look, at this point I've worked 45 days past my initial resignation date.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • I'm no longer able to continue effective immediately. All my work is done through today, yada yada.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Well surprise, surprise, they emailed me back saying this: Based on your confirmation to continue working, we relied on your continued employment through December 30, 2025, which aligns with our payroll cycle and transition by planning.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Your role during this period is critical to ensuring continuity of operations, including the timely and accurate submission and follow-up of billing and claims.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • An earlier departure would directly impact our ability to bill and reconcile claims properly and would create operational and financial disruption.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • \Company\ expects you to fulfill your obligation so that an orderly transition can occur. \Their state courts have recognized employers' right to recover reasonable costs and damages resulting from an employee's breach of a contractual notice requirement, and your Employment Agreement designates \their state\ District Court as the proper venue for enforcement.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • If you decline to comply, \company\ will document all resulting impacts and pursue enforcement of the Agreement in the appropriate court.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Dude. I just want out of this circus without getting a damn lawsuit thrown at me.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Everyone is telling me it's a scare tactic but wtf? Who threatens employees for quitting like this?!
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Business Meeting with Documents on the Table
    via kanchanachitkhamma

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Watsons-Butler "Breach of contract" - look at your employment contract. Is there a specified penalty for failing to give notice or whatever? If no, what are they going to do if you just stop working? Fire you?
    via Watsons-Butler
  • OP penguincrackers2019 It doesn't say anything; just "if employee terminates employment, 30 day notice must be given." There's no "OR THIS WILL HAPPEN"
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Laughing_Man_Returns how many days has it been since your notice? fully expect them to sue anyway, because they sound like that kind of idiots.
    via Laughing_Man_Returns
  • OP penguincrackers2019 45 fi king days!
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Operation_Fluffy No liquidated damages clause? Something that reads like: the damage from breach is hard to ascertain so the parties agree to <some number>?
    via Operation_Fluffy
  • OP penguincrackers2019 Literally, this is it: 1. At-Will Employment. The Parties' relationship shall be that of employer and employee. Nothing in this Agreement creates any joint venture or partnership. Employee is an at- will employee, meaning that Employee's employment may be terminated with or without advance notice, with or without cause, for any reason not prohibited by law, or for no reason whatsoever. Nothing herein creates a term of employment, and the employment relationship described h
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Chris33729 Yes, but in this case I imagine the argument would be more like "you said you would continue working until the end of the year and because of that we didn't hire anyone or passed on these applicants or we made this deal thinking we would have enough staff to work it and now we don't" something like that There does have to be detrimental reliance, but it doesn't have to be bankruptcy level reliance. Also for the sake of full clarity, for a promissory estoppel claim there has to be no o
    via Chris33729
  • OP penguincrackers2019 Also they did end up hiring my replacement but just never set up a time for me to train them. Then I got offered my new job and I don't want to continue to wait around to train the new guy.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • LuminaryEnvoy NAL but I'm genuinely curious: In another comment, OP said they said in an email that they would stay until the end of the year. >I just replied back in an email and said I would stay til the end of the year. Pretty sure that isn't binding. Would this count as enough for a contract modification in this case?
    via LuminaryEnvoy
  • OP penguincrackers2019 I do have a family friend that is an attorney (although real estate), and he said if there was no new consideration mentioned like a bonus for staying, a severance, new wages, etc, then it doesn't count. He also told me to tell them to fuck off, so yeah.
    via penguincrackers2019
  • tconners If you are in the US: Pretty sure they have to abide by the rules of the state in which \you\ are physically working. There may be exceptions to that but that's the general rule as far as I can tell. Also, what does your contract actually say? I persume you have a copy of it, or they will prompty provide you a copy of it if you don't have one for any reason. I'd be interested to know what you do that they're fighting this hard to keep an employee that doesn't want to be there, when they
    via tconners
  • OP penguincrackers2019 I literally make $20 an hour working in healthcare admin. They make it sound like without me, they are going to lose s0o0o much money. It's insane!
    via penguincrackers2019
  • Q_x_Y_Z_ It's a scare tactic, don't cave in, duck them and don't reply
    via Q_x_Y_z_
  • CagaliYoll Contact your own lawyer. Recovery of any kind of 'losses' due to the resignation of an employee is practically impossible short of a c-suite level. If there is a single employee capable of running the software, or someone who can write out the billing by hand it's the business' problem.
    via CagaliYoll
  • parkesc Stop stupidly agreeing to work for them. Tell them to show you the proof of whatever the fuck they're talking about. Maybe look into legal representation of your own.
    via parkesc
  • PlanetValmar Are you really that valuable of an employee that they would spend the time (and money, if no internal counsel on staff) to take you to court? Probably not, and they're just bluffing / bullying you into continuing to slave for them
    via PlanetValmar

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notice boss workplace-stories employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace overworked-employees workplace company quitting
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