Legal Repercussions of Quitting a "CONTRACTING" job early

[rdform7]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TEXAS

I live and work in Texas. For the first time in my life, as an I.T. (technical) worker, I decided to take a "contracting" job. Of course, all that really means is, you work through a staffing company, and the client saves themselves a little peace of mind because you're a lot easier to get rid of. They think they save money too, but I kind of doubt that, since the pay rate is pretty high hourly and then they pay the staffing company additional, so the total rate is ridiculously high.

This job was really sold to me as "6 months on contract, but then they really want to convert you to full time permanent". And it turns out they do - they definitely wanted and expected me to stay forever.

Unfortunately, I absolutely hate it there, the list of reasons is about a mile long, most of which there is no chance of changing or improving. I'm about to quit - I don't want to see or work for the client NOR the staffing company ever again.

The only thing I signed was the typical offer letter, which stated they'd employ me and I'd perform consulting work for them for 6 months. And a non-compete clause which only serves to prevent me from working for OTHER CLIENTS OF THEIRS ... not just "anyone". And the company I want to go back to has never ever been served by this staffing company nor ever will be - totally unrelated, just another job.

But of course, both companies are going to be upset when I leave. They can kind of tell it's a bad fit, but they certainly will feel it was wasted time and money - I'm 2 months in.

Still, though, this is Texas, an at-will state, and I mean it's just quitting. I'm not a business nor doing corp-to-corp, I'm just a regular guy on W2 as a full time employee of the staffing company, having taxes withheld by them etc.

They can't legally come after me just for quitting, can they? I know you'd rather see the contract before answering, but ... obviously I can't post it, and copy-paste verbiage might be too Google-able as "oh, that's ours".
Trust me, it basically says, we agree to employ you and you agree to work for us for 6 months. And there's a non-compete clause, which only prevents me from going to work for a competitor of theirs, or a current or former client of theirs, which I'm not.

I know that no matter what, nobody can win a contract suit and get as damages indentured servitude, but I mean as far as $ damages.

Just from your experiences or knowledge, in a typical "contracting job" situation, can you just walk away like a normal quitting scenario and be OK ? This is my first time, and contracting is WEIRD. (warning, don't do it if you never have and you're wondering if it's your thing - it SUCKS - all the work of a normal person, and all the "we expect you to be here forever", yet none of the appreciation/fitting in/benefits - a creepy mixture. You'll feel like an overworked foster child!)

 

[cbg]

IN GENERAL you can quit a staffing agency job any time you'd like to. IN GENERAL what you sign when you go through a staffing agency does not legally bind you to a specific period of time.

Obviously I am not in a position to say whether you are an exception or not; only a Texas attorney who has read every word of whatever you signed can do that. But the odds are in your favor.

Just as obviously, do not ever expect that agency to place you again or that they will provide you with anything resembling a good reference.

 

[commentator]

If I were you, I'd have that next job firmly set up before I quit the staffing company which is the only place you're really quitting. Incidentally, since you are in no way obligated to or working for the worksite employer, you're not quitting them. But do remember, there are people here who work in your field, they'll remember you and how you were in this work situation. That may follow you down the road.

But I'd have a little more lined up than just casually saying, "the place I used to work, I'm thinking about going back there....." Talk to them, set it up, have a starting date in hand before you take this action, unless you have plenty of "F- you" money laid aside so you can quit jobs without income while you are moving around in the job market.

The reason is that I have seen many of these "quit to take another job" dealies not work out as quickly as they were supposed to, or not work out at all as the person leaving hoped they would, which leaves them between jobs. At this point, there is the one downside of quitting a job like this which would kick in, you would not, in any way, qualify for the little weekly benefit of unemployment insurance that Texas would possibly provide you if you were to complete the job and didn't have somewhere else to go immediately, or were terminated from the job by the employer without a valid misconduct reason to terminate. That's the downside to quitting a job this way.

There's also the bad karma of having a staffing company which works closely with your particular type of employer hate you and say they would never rehire you. There's that non-compete you did sign. But "at will" applies both to the employer and the employee. You are free to quit the staffing company at will. They can't sue you or force you to keep working for them, or require notice. But think about it and get something else lined up and be proactive.