Geiger v. Cent. Carolina Surgical Eye Assocs. PA (Summary)

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS/VERBAL MODIFICATION

Geiger v. Cent. Carolina Surgical Eye Assocs. PA, No. COA14-169 (N.C. Ct. App. Oct. 7, 2014)

The Court of Appeals of North Carolina affirmed a trial court’s grant of a directed verdict in favor of an ophthalmologist who sued after her employer failed to pay her the wages she was guaranteed under her written employment contract.

This case involved an ophthalmologist employed by the defendant group (the employer) pursuant to a written employment agreement that included terms for a base salary, as well as bonus. While processing her application for participation, Blue Cross Blue Shield learned that the ophthalmologist was the subject of a National Practitioner Data Bank (“NPDB”) report (she had resigned from her prior employment while an investigation was underway regarding her clinical practice), which she had not disclosed on her application. This resulted in a delay in processing her application for participation in BCBS. Once the employer learned of the NPDB report, it met with the physician and told her that the terms of her employment would be changed – that she could work on a commission basis, but would not be provided a base salary. The ophthalmologist eventually began work for the employer and repeatedly complained that she was not being paid appropriately and pursuant to her contract. Ultimately, she stopped working for the employer and sued for breach of contract and violation of the state’s fair wage act. The employer raised the affirmative defense of modification of contract, alleging that it modified the contract during its discussions with the ophthalmologist and when it sent a modified contract to her two months after that conversation.

At trial, the court granted a directed verdict in favor of the ophthalmologist with respect to the affirmative defense of contract modification, noting that the fair wage law did not permit wages to be modified verbally and there was no evidence that the contract had been modified in writing.