Demoted

[Jay sun]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mississippi. I was demoted because I did not want to work 20+hours 18 of driving I was replaced before I was even demoted my pay would have been half of what I was making I did not take job there has to be something I can do because I did nothing wrong

 

[commentator]

What on earth does this have to do with Worker's comp? Unless they did this demotion to you after or during a worker's comp claim, which would really change the complexion of the whole issue. So if that's the case, please tell us.

Otherwise, the answer is yes, they can demote you for any reason. What your options are is to quit and file for unemployment benefits,but it pays a very low max weekly benefit in Mississippi anyhow, and try to find another job. Your chances of being approved for this low weekly benefit amount are fair to middling, provided you have not worked at the demotion job yet when you quit. If you work it (even for a day, an hour, a minute)and then quit, you will have very little chance of being approved for unemployment.

Or you can keep working the new job until you find another job. But you can't sue them or protest to the bureau of fairness because there isn't one, and MS has very few labor laws and is an at will state. So they can do whatever, as long as they did it not because of your race sex religion, age, all those EEOC issues, you don't have much you can do about it.

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mississippi. I was demoted because I did not want to work 20+hours 18 of driving I was replaced before I was even demoted my pay would have been half of what I was making I did not take job there has to be something I can do because I did nothing wrong

Do you mean you were asked to work 20+ hours per day??

Try using punctuation and looking over what you wrote before posting. It's hard to tell what you mean.

 

[Jay sun]

Do you mean you were asked to work 20+ hours per day??

Try using punctuation and looking over what you wrote before posting. It's hard to tell what you mean.

I am a truck driver and my employer wanted me to drive a total of 18 hours in 1 day and and by department of transportation a truck driver is only allowed to drive a total of 11 hrs in one day. I refused and was replaced before I was even told I was being demoted to another job that pays half of what I was making

 

[Proserpina]

I am a truck driver and my employer wanted me to drive a total of 18 hours in 1 day and and by department of transportation a truck driver is only allowed to drive a total of 11 hrs in one day. I refused and was replaced before I was even told I was being demoted to another job that pays half of what I was making

Careful - the actual law doesn't quite say that.

The law says that you can drive a maximum of 11 CONTINUOUS hours in a 14 hour work day.

http://www.legalinfo.com/content/truck-accidents/does-federal-law-limit-the-hours-that-a-truck-can-be-on-the-road.html

Does that make a difference?

 

[LdiJ]

Careful - the actual law doesn't quite say that.

The law says that you can drive a maximum of 11 CONTINUOUS hours in a 14 hour work day.

http://www.legalinfo.com/content/truck-accidents/does-federal-law-limit-the-hours-that-a-truck-can-be-on-the-road.html

Does that make a difference?

I know that there are sleep requirements as well between shifts...after the 14 hour day they have to have 8 hours to sleep. Those are safety requirements in place to benefit the general public, not so much the drivers. Therefore anyone who had to work 20 hours with 18 of them driving, would definitely not meet those safety requirements...because they would be past the 14 hours.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Please clearly define the parameters of what your employer asked and what type of truck driving you did. Cutting to the chase, were you an oilfield worker?

 

[Jay sun]

Please clearly define the parameters of what your employer asked and what type of truck driving you did. Cutting to the chase, were you an oilfield worker?

I drove a semi with 53 ft trailer to Jackson ms which is 5 hrs there 6 hrs back due to morning traffic and 1 hr to unload as I left Jackson ms my boss called me and said I had to come back to my lumber yard which is 6 hrs away and take a load to Birmingham al which would be 3 hrs there and 4 hrs back due to evening traffic and 1 hr to unload which altogether about 19-20 hrs with no rest I told him I would be over my allotted driving he said fine ill get someone to take it so when I came back from Jackson he had someone there to take Birmingham load but waited till the next day to tell me he was replacing me but could use me in the mill with like a 3 dollar pay cut an hr

 

[CJane]

I drove a semi with 53 ft trailer to Jackson ms which is 5 hrs there 6 hrs back due to morning traffic and 1 hr to unload as I left Jackson ms my boss called me and said I had to come back to my lumber yard which is 6 hrs away and take a load to Birmingham al which would be 3 hrs there and 4 hrs back due to evening traffic and 1 hr to unload which altogether about 19-20 hrs with no rest I told him I would be over my allotted driving he said fine ill get someone to take it so when I came back from Jackson he had someone there to take Birmingham load but waited till the next day to tell me he was replacing me but could use me in the mill with like a 3 dollar pay cut an hr

So, your driving pay was only $6/hour?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

He wanted you to break the law. You declined. He offered you another position instead of firing you. Your recourse would have been to file UI and likely receive it temporarily while you look for a new job. I suggest you look for a new job. If you have a good driving record and several years accident free, I suggest LTL for better pay. You can continue working while you look.

 

[commentator]

If you've already taken the other job and worked in the mill for a lesser pay, and you now quit the job, you don't have much of a chance of getting approved for unemployment benefits while you look for another job. Working at the demoted pay rate and job description means you've accepted it. Now if you quit, this is the job you're quitting and since you knew what it paid and what it was doing when you began it, you likely will not be approved for unemployment if you quit it.

I'd strongly suggest that you take the job in the mill and work there while you are looking for that next job. If you have the qualifications, you need to be working as a driver anyhow, they're much more in demand than mill workers.