Six Common Actions Your Employer Can Take Which Are Legal

workplace issuesChanging your work schedule. If you are an at will employee, your employer is free to change their schedule regardless of what was promised to you and what the initial arrangement was at the time of your hiring. There is no law that states that an employer has to stick to a certain schedule and that they are somehow bound by previous arrangements.

Changing your pay. While an employer must pay you for the work done at the agreed upon rate, the employer is free to change your compensation for future work as they see fit, as long as it complies, of course, with minimum wage laws and other applicable law. This applies to wages, bonuses and commissions, except in those cases where the employer is bound to pay you at a certain rate by contract

Transferring you. An employer is free to transfer you to work at a different office or a different branch of the company if they see fit. They have no legal obligation to provide notice or to be sensitive to any personal issues that the transfer might cause, except in situation where this change results in discriminatory or retaliatory results.

Writing you up unfairly. An employer is entitled to their subjective view of your performance, and they are free to discipline you as they see fit.

Not following employer’s own progressive-discipline policy. An employer is not bound by their own discipline policies and they can skip all the steps and proceed with firing an employee, even though in some cases this type of deviation from a written policy, coupled with other evidence, can support a claim for wrongful termination.

Terminating you unfairly. Likewise, an at-will employee can be terminated for any reason or no reason with or without notice. The fact that you believe your termination is unfair or unjustified doesn’t make it illegal and is not a basis for a wrongful termination case.

The above points are subject to a significant caveat – in any given situation, the above actions by the employer can be a result of unlawful discrimination or retaliation against you. If you suspect that the true reason for any of the above actions against you is unlawful discrimination or retaliation against you, you should seek advice of an experienced employment attorney.