If payroll procedures change and it has a direct affect on the employees, is the employer obligated to inform the employee of the change and can an HR person do the ‘informing’?
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If payroll procedures change and it has a direct affect on the employees, is the employer obligated to inform the employee of the change and can an HR person do the ‘informing’?
Company is a 2 in 1 arrangement. HR person does payroll on a Thursday and office personnel received their paychecks on Thursday afternoons. Mill employees received theirs on Friday. Decision to outsource payroll was made but nobody was informed until last minute. It changed historical, routine Thursday distribution for office employees on Thursday to a Friday with no prior knowledge. Should the HR person have informed us or are they even obligated to tell the employees?
Rita
Asked on July 13, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Montana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, they are not obligated to tell you in advance of this change. As a general rule, employers have very, very few disclosure obligations to their employees, as a side effect of "employment at will" (the law of this land except when changed by a written contract). Basically, the law supposes that the employer controls essentially all aspects of work at will, does not need employee consent or knowledge to make changes, and that employees not happy with what is done or how they are treated have the right to quit and seek other employment as their recourse.
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