Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I work for a financial firm in California. About 3-5 months ago, they informed us that all sales assistants were required to be licensed, that meant having to take the Series 7 Exam. This policy affected about 10 employees. We were given study material and also were signed up for a 5 day review course. Only 2 people passed on their first attempt and 8 people failed. Only this past Monday did they inform us that if we failed we would be terminated or we could opt to accept a severance package and voluntarily resign. There was no prior written or verbal notice to this change in policy. I've been working here for over 15 years! It's absurd to think that there are numerous people here who took the exam 2 or more times to pass and they didn't have the fear of losing their job. Is this legal or do I have grounds for wrongful termination? I feel as if the firm did not provide me with the necessary training to sucessfully pass as evidenced by the high failure rate. In addition, the time contraint was a big burden as I spend 8-9 hours at work and had a hard time juggling the studying with my responsibilities at home. They want me to sign something agreeing to this new policy but before I do, I want to know what my rights are. PLEASE HELP!

Thank you.


Asked on 5/05/10, 2:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

The employer is entitled to set and change hours, duties, titles, compensation, benefits, leaves, vacations, holidays, etc. just not retroactively. Employees have the 'right' to pay and employee benefits per the law and company policy as agreed, to be provided a 'safe' workplace to minimize risk of injury, and sometimes are provided certain medical/pregnancy leave rights. That's about it. In general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, with or without �cause� or explanation, other than for illegal discrimination, harassment or retaliation under the ADA [age], Civil Rights [race, sex, ethnic, religion, pregnancy, etc], Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. The employee's goal should be to keep the employer happy.

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Answered on 5/10/10, 3:43 pm


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