Q. Shortly after I began working for a company in Northern Virginia, I had a serious accident. I was forced to take a mutually agreed-upon medical leave of absence. One of my vice presidents informed me via a phone call to my wife that I would have a job when I returned, that I should not worry at all. Perhaps needless to say, after I had gotten my doctor's approval to return to work about six months later, there was no job for me. In fact, the company denied that the vice president had said anything about my having a job whenever I was able to return, although they later admitted that she may have said something. Are her statements contractually binding? Is there any recourse?

A. Diane A. Seltzer, a Washington lawyer, said the worker may have been wronged but proving it in court might be difficult.

"I wouldn't say, 'Don't pursue it,' but he ought to be aware it's an uphill battle," Seltzer said. The problems are proving the existence of an oral agreement and then proving that it is enforceable.

"It's not that this can't be contested in court, but it's going to be the employee's word versus the employer's word," she said. "Who's the jury going to believe?"

She said that since the legal presumption is that any job is an at-will proposition, unless specified by a contract or union agreement, the worker could have returned to work after the accident and "they could have fired him the next day for any reason or no reason, just not an illegal reason."

"It doesn't sound strong enough," she said. "It's a shame, but the lawyer's first rule is 'Get it in writing.'"

Copyright The Washington Post Company, June 1, 2003