Can my employer move me to another position without my agreement?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my employer move me to another position without my agreement?
I am a supervisor at a large company. My main job is to oversee a team of financial analysts that creates journal entries, performs reconciliations, and creates expense budgets and reports for upper management. Yesterday my manager said that she was moving me to another position (still a supervisor) that is mainly operational based. This new position is neither in my area of expertise or education. I have had good reviews in the 2+ years I have been with the company and have had no performance issues.
Asked on June 14, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Does this action run counter to an employment contract or union agreement? Does it violate company policy? Is it a result of some form of discrimination? If you answered , "No" to all of the foregoing then your employer can do this. Your permission is not required. While seemingly unfair your employer is well within its legal rights. The reason is that most employment relationships are "at will". Therefore, an employer can hire or fire someone for any reason or no reason whatsoever, as well has increase/decrease salary/hours, promote/demote, and generally impose requirements as it sees fit. In turn, an employee can work for an employer or not, their choice.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.