Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Can an employer transfer you to a different location with less then a week notice? This is our situation, my sister worked in the city of industry and then was asked to relocate to mira loma, which she did. She relocated about 5 years ago and on July 15 she was told that she would be transfered back to city of industry and on a different schedule by Monday. She spoke with her employer and told them that she didn't understand why she would be the one to be transfered if she has more seniority then other employees there. She then told them that if she was expected to drive to city of industry that she would require an increase because of mileage, gas, etc.., but was denied. They basically expect her to change her whole life in less then a week. In addition, they told her that if she stayed in Mira Loma and they changed her shift not to plan on being employed for every long. It was up to her.


Asked on 7/22/09, 10:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Carl Starrett Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II

California is an "at will" employment state. In most circumstances, the employer can change the terms of employment or even terminate the employee for almost any reason with little or no notice at all. Seniority usually matters very little in these types of matters and your question did not specify any grounds that would imply anything illegal about the proposed transfer.

There are exceptions to every rule. If the transfer was motivated by an illegal reason such as racial discrimination, then your sister might consider contacting an employment law attorney. She might also be in an industry that has special protections under the law or she might be of a union with a collective bargaining agreement that governs this type of thing.

It never hurts to see a local attorney who has the time to hear the full story. There may be details missing that might be pertinent to further analysis of this unfortunate situation.

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Answered on 7/22/09, 1:59 pm


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