Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

wrongful termination

I've worked for this company for four years. Recently

they decided to relocate my dept. to Kentucky. The

company is based in New York. Five of us were told that

our positions were eliminated and we were let go

suddenly one day. We were given a severance package

and asked to sign a legal document that says we can't

file suits against the company. I was a supervisor in

charge of two employees and later found out they will

be staying, and continuing with the same work on a

smaller scale. They both have much less seniority than

I do, although we are ''at will'' employees. I later found

out that one of them talked to the general manager

behind my back and probably begged to keep her job. It

worked, apparently, because the manager never even

talked to me about it. I was just given my walking

papers. My reviews have always been excellent, and I

would have been willing to renegotiate my salary, or

whatever it would take to keep my job. Do I have any

recourse?


Asked on 8/21/02, 8:20 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Brendan Chao Brendan Chao - Attorney & Counselor at Law

Re: wrongful termination

As all lawyers are prone to say, "It depends." If you did not have an employment contract then yes, you are an employee at will. An employer can fire you for any reason, or no reason. But what he can't do is fire you for an illegal reason, i.e. discrimination. There are numerous federal and state statutes that prohibit discrimination.

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Answered on 8/21/02, 9:03 am
Jeffrey S. Eisenberg Jeffrey S. Eisenberg, Attorney at Law

Re: wrongful termination

Obviously, there are many questions that need to be answered before a firm opinion can be given. For example, how many employees did the company have prior to the lay-offs? Was there a company-wide policy concerning relocation to Kentucky? Is it in writing? What does the severance agreement state? How about the employee manual, if there is one. Are you and/or the other terminated employees over 40 years old? If so, a reduction in force (RIF) should not impact on this protected class of individuals. This would violate Federal Law (i.e. ADEA). There are many other questions as well.

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Answered on 8/21/02, 3:50 pm


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