My corporation, ClearSCM Inc., had entered into a contract with Broadcom Inc. on 12/12/2011 for computer consulting services. The initial term was for 6 months but has been extended for 2 additional 6 months terms putting a final termination date for 6/28/2013.
Around 2/25/2013 Mohammed Ansari, the acting manager, visited me at my cubicle and said that some people might find my funny taglines, picked at random from a set of hundreds and added to the signature of my emails, inappropriate to which I immediately complied, changing my email to not use any funny taglines except for the phrase "This space for rent".
On 4/2/2013 I was told my contract was terminated and I was walked out. For the record, this was at least 5 weeks after I was told of the violation (2/25/2013 - 4/2/2013) and that, again, I immediately corrected or "cured" the violation.
When asked for an official reason why the contract was terminated, Chrissy (Christiane) Roussell, a Senior HR Business Parter - Policy & Investigations Broadcom Corporation said:
Per our conversation this morning [4/4/2013], I informed you that Broadcom terminated your contractual relationship with the Company on April 2, 2013 because you engaged in conduct that violated Broadcom's Appropriate Use Policy ("AUP") for contractors (which you signed as part of your engagement) and our standards of professionalism. As we discussed, you used your Broadcom-issued email address to send several emails to various Broadcom employees and individuals outside of Broadcom that included "jokes" that were sexually inappropriate and racially insensitive, in direct violation of the AUP. In speaking to me today, you indicated that you did not believe that the conduct was inappropriate.
Based on the nature of the violation, it is incapable of being cured and your agreement was terminated immediately, effective April 2, 2013.
The section of the contract relevant to termination states:
9. TERMINATION
9.1 Termination
(a) The Company may terminate this Agreement and/or any Statement(s) of Work, for any reason or no reason, upon giving two (2) weeks prior written notice. If one Party is in breach of any material provision of this Agreement and/or any Statement(s) of Work entered into under this Agreement and such breach is not cured in thirty (30) day s of written notice thereof, the other Party may terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice; provided, however, if the breach is incapable of cure in thirty (30) day period, the other Party may terminate this Agreement immediately and without further notice or delay.
(b) The Company may terminate this Agreement and/or any Statement(s) of Work entered into under this Agreement immediately and without prior notice if Contractor refuses to or is unable to perform the Services, provide the Deliverables or Documentation, or otherwise perform any obligation under this Agreement or Statement(s) of Work.
9.2 Return of Information. Upon termination of expiration of this Agreement, or earlier upon the Company's request, Contractor shall deliver to the Company, within ten (10) business days after such termination, expiration of request all Deliverables and all Documentation, Results, Work Product and other materials provided to it by the Company.
9.3 Survival. Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, all rights and duties of the Parties toward each other shall cease except those of Sections 2.6, 2.7, and 4-11 and those provisions that by their nature survive termination or expiration of this Agreement. Further, following termination or expiration of this Agreement for any reason, to the extent requested by Company, Contractor shall continue work on or complete all of any portion of any Statements of Work entered into under this Agreement.
(Emphasis mine)
I fail to see why the issue was deemed incurable when it was cured at least 5 weeks before and immediately when brought to my attention and what caused Broadcom to forcefully removed me from the premises. I fail to see why Broadcom couldn't have simply acknowledge that I had cured the issue and we could not have continued our relationship (we did for at least 5 weeks). And I fail to see why Broadcom could not simply have notified me with 2 weeks notice as the contract clearly stipulates. Why did Broadcom feel that my violation was so egregious that it was more than necessary to walk me out without notice instead of giving me and my firm, ClearSCM, the opportunity to "wind down" the contract imparting critical information to the other members of the team to insure a smooth transition - and then wait 5 whole weeks for this supposedly incurable violation before acting.
I am asking for Broadcom to honor the contract as stated and pay ClearSCM for 2 weeks of work (83 hours @ $110/hr or $9640 as I averaged 42.975 hr/week) plus any court or arbitration costs.
I would also like Broadcom to surrender all communications between IBM and Broadcom regarding Andrew DeFaria and ClearSCM that were conducted from January 1, 2013 til present so that ClearSCM might be able to properly name persons involved and pursue suit against such persons at IBM regrading loss of revenue that ClearSCM has incurred due to their actions. (More information about the IBM Issue available here)