wrongful termination?? (kind of) california

So I work for a company in Los Angeles. My company is contracted by another company to do parking at a residential apartment building. So after working here for nearly a year, I became involved with a resident of the building and began dating her. After dating for about two months the management apparently just got wind of this and had a meeting with my manager and said that it was a conflict and that he had to do something about the situation. So the next week I was just taken off of the schedule. My boss wouldn't fire me but he said he wanted me to move to a different location, I declined because I was hired for this location not another one. After a week of being off the schedule I finally had a meeting with my boss and he told me what happened. So I didn't sign anything that said I wouldn't be involved with someone that lived in the building. So I'm technically still employed with the company but I'm not working at all. My question is, is what was done legal and if not who would be in the wrong and what woudl this be called? My company, the company that owns the building that said I couldn't work here anymore or both? As stated in the title, I live in California.

{Quote}My boss wouldn't fire me but he said he wanted me to move to a different location, I declined because I was hired for this location not another one.{Unquote}

The above could be considered insubordination.

The company that contracts yours to handle the parking at the apartment building has the right to say they're not comfortable with you dating a resident. When push comes to shove, your company is going to choose them and their $$$$$ over your love life.

Nothing's going on that's illegal. Your stance has proven that you're a troublemaker. Reconsider working at another location.

While I thank you for your answer on if this was an illegal action or not, I would appreciate if you do not judge immediately and begin to call me a trouble maker or try to say me declining a move to another location is insubordination because it is not.

I was hired to work at a location, declining to move to another location on the other side of town is not being insubordinate. I simply declined a transfer. Also, I have been rewarded with employee of the month more than once so it's obvious that I am not a trouble maker. Quite the opposite actually, the best worker on the staff. I was told by several people that what was done is not legal since I didn't sign anything regarding this matter. And since there are people on their staff who date within the building. I had no clue if that was true or not and wanted to find out. I am not looking to be judged or for a advice on how to handle the situation other than what is legal and what is not.

Again, thank you for the reply and I notice that you post on here a lot which is admirable but try not to be so quick to judge when you don't have all of the facts on a situation. Thank you.

brandonlee said:

While I thank you for your answer on if this was an illegal action or not, I would appreciate if you do not judge immediately and begin to call me a trouble maker or try to say me declining a move to another location is insubordination because it is not.

Click to expand...

Whether or not you're a troublemaker is a matter of opinion. I happen to share that opinion. All your employer wants is for you to do your job so they can bill the client, so they can continue to do business. Now they have to deal with the employee dating a resident, the client disapproves, they ask you to move, you refuse, etc. That's trouble, and you made it. Of course, you're welcome to disregard my opinion or anyone else's.

Whether or not your refusal is insubordination, however, is not an opinion, it's a fact. Your employer has almost complete control over the nature and duties of your job, and making changes or moving you to another location does not require your consent. If you refuse that directive, you are insubordinate. Even the "best worker on the staff" can be insubordinate.

Whomever is telling you that your employer is acting illegally is wrong. If you insist it is illegal, your next step is to contact the EEOC or a lawyer. You won't get anywhere with it, but you certainly have the right to try.

Refusing the transfer will very likely be considered refusing work by the unemployment board, so you won't qualify for unemployment benefits either.

The conjunction 'so' is meant to be used in the middle of a sentence, not to begin them.

Your employer doesn't want his business used as a dating service. He risks his own business by allowing this to continue.

You should move to the 2nd apartment building. If you're lucky, with your charm and youthful good looks you might be able to meet a second gf to date when the first is not available.

It is not your right under the law to say where you will and will not work. It is your boss's right under the law to fire you if you will not work at the location he wants you to work.

It doesn't matter a damn what location you were "hired to work at". What matters is where your boss wants you to work NOW. Unless you have a legallly binding and enforceable contract that says you will work at this location and none other, which is extremely unlikely and I suspect you would have mentioned it if you did, the only place you work is where the boss says.

Bottom line? It is legal for the boss to transfer you to a different building and it is legal for your boss to fire you if you refuse.

Just to put a ribbon on this...

It is also perfectly legal for your boss to tell you to stop dating a resident and fire you if you don't.

Whether you move locations or not.

cyjeff said:

Just to put a ribbon on this...It is also perfectly legal for your boss to tell you to stop dating a resident and fire you if you don't. Whether you move locations or not.

Click to expand...

...and just to run the ribbon down the edge of a scissor to make a little curly-cue thingy, it is perfectly legal for your boss to fire you for just about any reason he wants to, as long as it's not a reason prohibited by law (race, religion, sex, etc.). And by "sex", I mean "the one you are", not "with whom you're having it".

CLT747, thanks for your reply. You were the most helpful of all. . .apparently this is all legal according to the answers. I just wasn't sure and wanted to check. I really thought that something would be illegal about this since they took action against me and not against their two employees who get together and one of them who slept with a tenant. Given, they aren't officially dating but it just seemed wrong that they were taking action against me and not against them.

As stated before I appreciate the answers and not the life lessons or rude remarks such as the one given by Alex23 regarding finding a 2nd gf. Your reply was unnecessary and added nothing to this post. Just to make things clear, it is perfectly acceptable to use the word 'so' at the beginning of a sentence. However, it technically should have been separated by a comma.

Well, thanks for the answers I appreciate mostly clt747. Direct and to the point, much appreciated. Case closed, question answered. Thank you.

brandonlee said:

As stated before I appreciate the answers and not the life lessons or rude remarks such as the one given by Alex23 regarding finding a 2nd gf.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this experience was almost entirely a life lesson. If you have the 'privilege' of working for a large corporation someday, you will find exponentially more of the same as what you've experienced.

As a coping mechanism, you might learn to keep 'work' and 'personal' lives compartmentalized. I do not talk to my friends from work outside of work, and I do not try to get my personal friends to come work with/for me. I made an exception to this rule once, and regretted it the first time I had to write a close childhood friend up for a serious infraction.

Dougthegreat, thanks for adding this post in a constructive manner. I am not the type to mix work and personal lives. This relationship wasn't even initiated by me and even after we were dating, when I was at work I came to work and did my job. When I wasn't I would enjoy time with her and not flaunt it around the building where I worked. I can see how lines were blurred though.

However, I still feel this board is a bit ridiculous. This post is the first time I have posted on here because I had so many people telling me what was done isn't allowed. Mostly because others that work here have some form of relationship and no action was taken against them I would assume. But I posted on a legal board to get legal advice. If I wanted a life lesson, relationship advice or a course on grammar I wouldn't have come here. I came here to ask a legal question only and get an answer to a legal question only.

I'm sure that's simple way to put it where there sould be no confusion. Since this board is for legal advice I assumed that is what it would be used for, but then again you never know.

brandonlee said:

Dougthegreat, thanks for adding this post in a constructive manner. I am not the type to mix work and personal lives. This relationship wasn't even initiated by me and even after we were dating, when I was at work I came to work and did my job. When I wasn't I would enjoy time with her and not flaunt it around the building where I worked. I can see how lines were blurred though.

However, I still feel this board is a bit ridiculous. This post is the first time I have posted on here because I had so many people telling me what was done isn't allowed. Mostly because others that work here have some form of relationship and no action was taken against them I would assume. But I posted on a legal board to get legal advice. If I wanted a life lesson, relationship advice or a course on grammar I wouldn't have come here. I came here to ask a legal question only and get an answer to a legal question only.

I'm sure that's simple way to put it where there sould be no confusion. Since this board is for legal advice I assumed that is what it would be used for, but then again you never know.

Click to expand...

Oh BROTHER. Did you happen to even READ the first response you received? It was absolutely accurate legal advice.

brandonlee said:

I came here to ask a legal question only and get an answer to a legal question only.

I'm sure that's simple way to put it where there sould be no confusion. Since this board is for legal advice I assumed that is what it would be used for, but then again you never know.

Click to expand...

Okay brandonlee, here's your legal advice one more time (since you obviously didn't read it the first several times it was given):

It is perfectly legal for your employer to require you to change work locations, and perfectly legal for your employer to fire you if you refuse to move.

It is also perfectly legal for your employer to require you to terminate your relationship with one of your employer's clients, and perfectly legal for your employer to fire you if you refuse.

Does that answer your legal questions?

Wow!! The last two guys who posted obviously can't read very well.

Zigner and eerelations if you learn how to read, you would notice that I never said that the question wasn't answered. I acknowledged that the question was answered LONG ago. I actually thanked several people for answering the question and said topic CLOSED! I have my answer.

What I did write was that it's a bit ridiculous when I ask a legal question and can't get a simple answer. Instead of 'yes this is allowed' or 'no this isn't' I get a bunch of gossiping little girls that have to give their opinion and try to tell me to go somewhere else and find another girlfriend. Also, trying to tell me that I'm a troublemaker and I should take this other job or be thankful for this or that. If I wanted someones suggestion or a lesson on what I should do about the situation I would ask for that. However, I DIDN'T. I asked a legal question and got an answer with a lot of added BS. That is what I was stating, nothing more.

So to close this post, I would like to say. Those who posted in a constructive manner, thanks again. Others who gave useless advice or opinions, save that for help board. It simply doesn't belong on a legal board unless it is asked for.

Again if you were constructive, thank you for your help. Let's go ahead and close/lock this post, it is a major waste of time for everyone to continue to read and post opinions and ideas and nothing legal. Thank you.