Can my former employer threaten to drop my spouse’s contract if I refuse to come back to train my replacement?
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Can my former employer threaten to drop my spouse’s contract if I refuse to come back to train my replacement?
My spouse has a service contract with my former employer. In a recent e-mail, my former employer threatened to drop my spouse’s contract if I did not come back in to train my replacement. I fulfilled my 2 weeks notice and it has been several months since I worked for this employer.
Asked on January 10, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Montana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Yes, it can. Unless such action violates a breach of your spouse's employment contract (or any applicable union agreement or internal company policy). The fact is that most employment relationships are what is known as "at will". So an employee can choose to work for an employer or not. However, this also means that an employer can hire or fire someone for any reason, a bad reason, or even no reason at all.
Bottom line - While you cannot be forced to go back to train your replacement, your spouse may just pay the price if you don't.
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