Can a contract be designed to prohibit an employee from quitting?
<p>Suppose a company were to specify, in a contract, that a candidate is bound to remain an employee, with all the work obligations that come with the role, unless and until one of two things happens:</p>
<ol>
<li>The company terminates the contract in writing,</li>
<li>Circumstances entirely outside of the employee's control results in the employee's death.</li>
</ol>
<p>Additionally, they throw in a penalty specifically designed to deter termination - such as now OWING the company money, as opposed to being paid. For example, you quit, and now you have to pay back all of the money we paid you throughout your employment here.</p>
<p>Would such a contract be legally enforcible?</p>

<p>No, a penalty clause is illegal, end of story. A contract <em>could</em> include a &quot;liquidated damages&quot; clause – this is how late fees are legal – that if you breach the contract in a certain way, you will compensate the company for the damage that you have done (bookkeeping, interest on money owed) in a standard and reasonable manner. Incidentally, what you describe is slavery, which is illegal throughout the US. The closest you could get is if the company offers a benefit for staying with the company for some period of time, then the employee might forego that benefit if they don't fulfill that aspect of the contract.</p>

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