Laid off, need advice

[jaguar_pcb]

OK, this might be long. In April I was offered a job in Spokane, Washington. I lived in Michigan, and was looking to move, but didn't know if I wanted to move so far (2000 miles). The company offering the job is based in California, with a small satallite office in Washington. They practically begged me to take the job, convinced me to move the 2000 miles, and offered only partial reimbursement to move. I was OK with that because I liked the opportunity, and Spokane is a wonderful and beautiful place to live. So we moved. I started work on June 11.

Now it's 4 months later and I was laid off last Friday. The whole time I worked here work was very slow, with most of my time spent just surfing the internet with no work to do at all. I kept asking my manager if I should be worried, and he emphatically ensured me and my one coworker that we had nothing to worry about, that our jobs were secure, and that work would pick up. Well, it didn't.

The job market here is not so good, I can't find a job. If I move somewhere else I will be breaking a 12 month apartment lease, and I don't know what the law is in Washington, but in Michigan we would have had to pay a fee for breaking the lease plus the rent until they rented the apartment. That could be months. I now have to pay $500 per month for COBRA, and unemployment isn't going to come close to what I was earning.

Here is what I want to know: Do I have any legal case to get the rest of the money it cost us to move out here, perhaps money to move back to Michigan (our family is there and may be able to help us with a place to live), payment for COBRA, lost wages, anything? I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't have surprised me if I had left the company on my own that they would probably have wanted their $2500 moving reimbursement back. I'm now in debt from moving, and don't know what to do. Frankly, I think they should be held responsible for convincing me to move out here, continually telling me my job was secure, and then canning me, leaving me in a real fanancial bind. Do I have a case?

 

[ALawyer]

Unless you had a written or oral agreement regarding duration of employment, or possible relocation BACK, I don't see what rights you have.

 

[jaguar_pcb]

Not even the fact that I was mislead about the stability of my position, that I was continuously told not to worry, that I was begged to move 2000 miles from my home? Sorry, I'm just really mad about this. I was lied to and deceived about this job, and now I may never get out of debt because of it.

 

[kenyoon]

In California, there is a law that provides some protection for what happened to you. It is California Labor Code Sections 970-972. If you seek a local lawyer in Michigan or Washington, mention the California law. There may be a similiar law in Washington or Michigan.

You may be able to sue in California, but it probably isn't practical for you.

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[JETX]

Not even the fact that I was mislead about the stability of my position, that I was continuously told not to worry, that I was begged to move 2000 miles from my home? Sorry, I'm just really mad about this. I was lied to and deceived about this job, and now I may never get out of debt because of it.

Sorry, but the realities are that even if these did constitute some obligation by the company, you would have to be able to prove these claims in a court. And since they are verbal (or 'warm fuzzies') they have no more credibility than the companies response, "We never implied stability, we never said 'don't worry', we never begged him/her to move".

Further, though I appreciate Kenyoon's offer of a California Code to cover your situation, I doubt that it would be of much benefit. That Code section requires that the offer be done KNOWING that it is false at the time of the offer. That is VERY hard (and expensive) to prove.

"970. No person, or agent or officer thereof, directly or indirectly, shall influence, persuade, or engage any person to change from one place to another in this State or from any place outside to
any place within the State, or from any place within the State to any place outside, for the purpose of working in any branch of labor,
through or by means of knowingly false representations, whether spoken, written, or advertised in printed form, concerning either:
(a) The kind, character, or existence of such work;
(b) The length of time such work will last, or the compensation therefor;
(c) The sanitary or housing conditions relating to or surrounding the work;
(d) The existence or nonexistence of any strike, lockout, or other labor dispute affecting it and pending between the proposed employer and the persons then or last engaged in the performance of the labor for which the employee is sought."
Source: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/lab/970-977.html