Employment bond
An employment bond is a contract requiring that an employee continue to work for their employer for a specified period, under penalty of a monetary forfeiture to the employer. Such contracts and associated surety bonds are similar to indentured servitude or serfdom, in that although employees are compensated, they are not permitted to leave their employment except under specified conditions. However, in general, the only penalty for breaching the contract is payment of the bond amount. Legality. India. The landmark case "Toshniwal Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd. vs Eswarprasad, E. and Others", decided in 1996, describes the legality of employment  bonds in India. It holds that under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, contracts requiring an employee to pay a bond if they prematurely resign their employment are legal and enforceable, at least in cases where employers pay expenses like training for the employee. The case refers to the 1973 Supreme Court of India case "Union of India (Uoi) vs. Rampur Distillery and Chemical Co. Ltd.", which held that a surety bond in favour of the Government of India securing the delivery of some rum was unenforceable because the government did not show an actual loss, among other cases, to limit  the forfeiture of bond to cases where the employer has suffered some cognizable loss. A related case from 1995 in the Madras High Court, "P. Nagarajan vs. Southern Structurals Ltd.", corroborated the limitation of damages payable to the loss actually suffered even in spite of a liquidated damages stipulation. The employee cannot be ordered by the court to return to service for their previous employer after leaving; they can only be found to forfeit the bond. United States. Demands for specific performance in personal services contracts (i.e. to remain in employment) are generally unenforceable under the Thirteenth Amendment to  the United States Constitution. However, whether damages can become payable under these contracts varies by industry and industry-specific circumstances. For example, in the music industry, an agreement to work for a specific record label may be enforceable and result in the awarding of damages; though this is not often an employment agreement, it is a personal services agreement and specific performance is unavailable as a remedy due to the Thirteenth Amendment.