CanI be taken off the schedule after giving unofficial notice?
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CanI be taken off the schedule after giving unofficial notice?
I told my employer that I am looking for a different job and will be quitting in a month or two. He immediately took me off the schedule, 2 weeks before I earned my vacation pay for the previous year. I have worked for the company for 5 years. Can he do that?
Asked on August 4, 2010 under Employment Labor Law, Arkansas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Did you have an employment contract (or were you subject to a union agreement) which specified grounds and procedure for discipline and termination? If you did, then any actions the company takes must be in accordance with that contract. However, if you did not have one, then you are an employee at will. Employees at will may literally be fired (or demoted, have hours reduced, etc.) at any time, for any reason, without notice. Therefore, unfortunately, yes, your employer may do this. Furthermore, it's very common--employers will often terminate employees who say they are looking for another job. It may seem unfair, but consider: by telling the employer you are looking for another job and will be quiting in a month or two, you signaled to him--
* You may not care much about doing your job well--you're leaving anyway
* You may become unavailable on short notice, if you need to interview
* If you go to a competitor, you could, whether deliberately or simply inadvertently, pass on important information
In short, the only prudent thing was to take you off schedule. In the future, any HR professional would recommend you do not do this again.
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