Do I have a case?
My husband and I have worked at the same job for 30 years as groundskeepers doing mowing, equipment maintenance, painting, cleaning, and such miscellaneous jobs; however, my husband passed away in September 2007.
Since that time my employer has insisted that I work 40 hours per week since I am a "salaried" employee and document what I do each day and the amount of time that each task takes. One of the tasks was shoveling snow in subzero weather at the age of 61 years old. This has not been a requirement for the last 30 years, but became a new requirement since my husband's death.
My employer recently posted my deceased husband's job in the newspaper and last night hired his replacement. Today I received written notification that I have my job and home through June 2008, but they have decided it is time for a change. They have offered me a severance pay of $14,000 (one year worth of wages for me) that will be paid on or about July 1, 2008.
Are the procedural changes they requested asking me to document hours worked and the amount of time required to perform these tasks considered harassment and an attempt to make me quit? Do I have any legal rights to contest their decision? Can they remove the severance pay offer if I pursue any legal rights I may have regarding my situation?
Answers (1)
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your husband and now the loss of your job. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you.
An employer can lawfully set the number of hours that you must work. The employer can also decide what work your job entails, including more difficult tasks and time consuming paperwork. If you do not want to work the hours or perform the additional duties, the law says that you can leave and find other work. This is part of the employment at will doctrine, which says that an employer can terminate your employment any time that it chooses to do so, and so can you.
However, as an exception to the employment at will doctrine, the law prohibits an employer from forcing an employee to quit, or firing them outright, for certain prohibited reasons, including the employee's age or gender. So, if your employer hired a substantially younger, male as your replacement, you might be able to challenge the decision as unlawful age or gender discrimination. Whether or not the severance offer is adequate in light of your potential claims will depend on the specific facts of your situation.
A severance offer of one year's pay is fairly generous by today's standards. Technically, if you demand more, you have rejected the original offer and it can be withdrawn. If you approach the discussion of severance with your employer properly, however, experience shows that the employer will probably not remove the offer altogether.
From here, evaluating your claims and providing specific, strategic advise for negotiating severance pay is very fact specific. To dig into the facts, we offer an initial consultation at a fee of $200. If you would like to meet for a consultation, please call Jenny at 330.665.5445, ext. 0 and she will get you on my calendar.
Best regards,
Neil Klingshirn.
posted by Neil Klingshirn | Apr 28, 2008 08:37 AM [EST]
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