Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Promissory Notes for Transfer Relocations

based on your facts, you may want to consider either a counteroffer or conditional provision based on your mother's health to cover you in this event possibility. if you would like legal assistance in this matter, please email me directly with your contact information for a free evaluation/consultation by phone.

Re: Promissory Notes for Transfer Relocations

I see at least two ways for you to approach this: hardball and softball.

Softball is the counteroffer approach suggested by Mr. Torrey, where you tell your employer you cannot agree to a year because of your mom's condition and see if you can bargain for a shorter period. However, there is nothing facially illegal about your employer conditioning payment of moving expenses on your agreement to work for at least a specified minimum period at the new location. If you have not exhausted the annual FMLA leave, you will still be entitled to it in NY if she again takes ill (although NY law won't require the employer to pay you for the leave while working there--California is unique on that).

Hardball is to question the timing of the entire elimination of position and proposed transfer. It smells a lot like FMLA leave retaliation, since it happened right after the leave. If you see no business conditions that would prevent you from continuing to do the same job there, you could object that the proposed action is FMLA leave retaliation and threaten to complain to the US Dept of Labor if they don't back down from the proposal. They might back off. Of course, you won't be management's favorite guy/gal. They will be looking to get the dirt on you, so you will have to keep your nose clean for a very long time. If you're lucky, they'll get over it in time, especially if business improves and you are a valuable employee. But beware, in this situation, it is my experience that most employers start going to great lengths to document dishonesty or poor performance.