Can a company keep changing the end date of employment for a worker when a company is shutting down?
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Can a company keep changing the end date of employment for a worker when a company is shutting down?
The company I work for told us that we would close on a certain date and that we would get a severance package. Then they changed my date to 2 months earlier; I signed an agreement to say that I would stay until then to get my severance pay. Is it legal to change it again and make us sign another package deal with no added severance? Do we have to sign another contract or can we just take our last contract and still get our severance package and leave on our last contract and date? We are not union.
Asked on February 6, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Unless the agreement that you signed or another agreement (such as an employment contract or union agreemnt) specifies when your end date is to be, it can be changed much as your company sees fit. This is because most employment is "at will" which means that a business can set the conditions of the workplace as it deems necessary. Further, severance packages are not legally mandated. This means that if an employer chooses to offer it, then it has a great deal of say over when and how, or even if, it is paid.
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