Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Hello. I was hired in June by a large corporation to work at a branch near my residence and the Friday before my start date the Monday of the following week I was asked to assist at another center, which was about a 40 minute commute from my home "temporarily" to help out due to them having just terminated the director there. I agreed on a temporary basis and now, 3 months later, have not been moved to my 'home' location as stated in my original job offer letter with no answers as to when that will happen. I am in no position to leave due to the stress associated with the commute and the consequent long hour days (13-14 hours) because I need an income, however it is greatly impacting my quality of life. I was wondering if this was considered a 'breach of contract'. My last minute change was never documented so my original cover letter still states my original offer as of the beginning of June.

Thanks so much,

Melissa


Asked on 9/08/13, 5:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

The offer letter is not necessarily and rarely is, on its own, a complete employment contract. A lawyer would have to evaluate all the facts and review any written agreements to ascertain whether any real contract of employment exits. If not, the default, as you may be aware, is "at will" employment. This means that you can be terminated at anytime for any or no reason just like you can quit at anytime for any or no reason. Therefore, your employer is not prohibited from changing the location of your employment.

Now, in certain situations, a drastic change in the terms of your job description may constitute a "constructive termination" which may qualify you for unemployment benefits, but your narrative does not really support that proposition.

If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

866-871-8655

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.

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Answered on 9/09/13, 9:37 am


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