Can I get fired because I couldn't work the new hours that I was to be scheduled for?
Question Details:
I am a single mother of four and one of them is a newborn. I have been with the company over a year. I was informed by my employer that starting at the beginning 2010, I would have to go to another department working more nights; plus I could not make commission. So it would have been less money. I told him I couldn't because I have no one to watch my kids or help them with school work plus I have a newborn. So he said that he didn't need me anymore and that I could not work up until the beginning of the year; I had to go that day.
Employment and Labor Law Answers
I know that this seems harsh but it is probably legal.
Most employment relationships are what is known as "at will". This means that you can work for an employer, or not, your choice. It also means that an employer can hire or fire someone for any reason or no reason whatsoever, as well has increase/decrease salary/hours, promote/demote, and generally impose requirements as they see fit.
The only exceptions to the above would be if there is a stated company policy covering this, or there is a union/employment agreement that governs, or this situation has arisen due to some type of discrimination.
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