Is an oral employment agreement for contract work binding in NY state?

Question

There were 2 people in the interview, one the Dr. another a state employment counselor. She asked if there was anything I could begin doing immediately, but not until Dr. had insurance issues cleared up. Also, I would be contracted and receive a 1099 at the end of the year. So I would basically have been consulting the practice.

There were 2 people in the interview. 1 the Dr and the other a state employment specialist. I was to be basically contracted and receive a 1099 at the end of the year. The employment specialist asked if there was anything I could do to start now, but the Dr had insurance issues that would take 2-4 weeks to take care of. After that I was to begin working at the office. She had even mentioned how I could do whatever hours I wanted, sometimes Sat. were the best, no patients more work could be done without interuption. I began researching what I would need to preform my job to it's fullest and spoke with several companies, etc. I put in 20 researching her practice specialty and now I want to get paid. We had also agreed at the interview on my pay. I have all research documentations, emails and correspondences received to present to the court.

Answer 1

Oral contracts are binding - the tricky part is establishing that a contract existed, and exactly what its terms are. So while the technical answer is yes, the practical answer is almost always no,

Answer 2

Not unless its on tape, and the person is aware you are recording the conversation and will use it later if they reneg.