Is there any legal recourse for an employee who is being relocated to a new job site in a different city?
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Is there any legal recourse for an employee who is being relocated to a new job site in a different city?
Im being moved to a new city which will be an additional 45
minutes or more to my commute. I spoke with HR and the
distance is just shy of where the policy kicks in. Does
California have any special protections I can use. Does the
Fair Labor Standards Act have any protection or
compensation I can seek?
Asked on April 29, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
There really is no set or secure recourse for you. If the total commute is not so far that no reasonable person would do it, you could in theory quit and get unemployment on the theory you were "constructively"--or effectively--terminated by the job being made impossible, or at least wholly unreasonable, but that is a subjective judgement: how far is too far? It is not a guaranty that unemployment would agree and give you benefits. Much depends on the current length of your commute: if you are currently commuting a 1/2 hour or less, an extra 3/4 of an hour would not typically be seen as too far: many people commute more than an hour to work. (Certainly in my area, northern NJ, they do: hour to hour-and-half commutes each way are common.) If you are currently commuting an hour-and-a-half or more, then the extra 45 minutes may well be too much. Unfortunately, you don't know whether any claim for unemployment will be honored unless and until your try.
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