work situation - being forced to move

[MrJenkins]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Hi-

I have been working for a company for 5 years now. With my jobs blessing, I relocated to a different state than our HQ.

We recently had a situation with our software which required an upgrade and now the people who worked from home cannot connect to the server in order to do our work

we have been given the option of (return to the office and work, or find a new job). I am the only one that lives out of state, so it's not a big deal for the others.

I just resigned a lease for a year and have 10 months left.

What are my options? Would I be able to get unemployment if I quit? Should I be fired? Can I request that they provide me with money to break my lease?

I am not sure what I should do to protect myself. I am a good employee with no bad marks on their records.

Thanks

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Hi-

I have been working for a company for 5 years now. With my jobs blessing, I relocated to a different state than our HQ.

We recently had a situation with our software which required an upgrade and now the people who worked from home cannot connect to the server in order to do our work

we have been given the option of (return to the office and work, or find a new job). I am the only one that lives out of state, so it's not a big deal for the others.

I just resigned a lease for a year and have 10 months left.

What are my options? Would I be able to get unemployment if I quit? Should I be fired? Can I request that they provide me with money to break my lease?

I am not sure what I should do to protect myself. I am a good employee with no bad marks on their records.

Thanks

Unless your are currently employed under a contract that guarantees you the ability to work from home, they can change the terms of your employment at any time, really. You aren't being fired, so if you decide NOT to remain employed under the terms the employer has offered you (returning to the office to perform your job duties), then it would be voluntary unemployment. Most UI eligibility requires that you not refuse work that is available to you, and since this is still available (the job is not being eliminated), then I'm thinking you wouldn't qualify for unemployment.

In regards to your lease, again, because you were not working under any kind of contract that guarantees your employment for a specific period of time, if you choose to break your lease and move so you can keep your job, the company would not be under any obligation to pay the damages for your broken lease. You could ask, but they wouldn't have to do it.

I feel for you. You're in a really tough situation here. On one hand, keep the job and move, and break the lease. On the other hand, quit the job, and lose your employment and your financial security. I don't envy you there.

Perhaps your LL would be willing to work with you on releasing you from your lease early with minimal penalty, or perhaps they might consider allowing you to sublet until the lease expires in 10 months?

 

[justalayman]

You can request anything you would like. They have no obligation to honor your request. Your relocation was your choice so your employer has no duty to do anything to assist you and bear no liability due to your move. If you cannot fulfill the requirements of your employment, they can surely terminate you. The truth of the matter is; they can terminate you anytime they want to unless you have a contract stating otherwise.

Would I be able to get unemployment if I quit?

Hard to say. UI is an odd situation. It may be accepted that you did not cause the loss of employment and are approved. They could decide otherwise if they choose and you would have to appeal their decision, if you believe it not proper. I would think UI would be approved but that is only a guess. There are a couple folks (one that I believe actually works for a state UI department) and several HR folks that are pretty good at this so stick around.

as to your lease: unless you can negotiate an early termination or there is the ability to do so within the lease, you are at risk for being required to pay the balance of the lease, if a new tenant cannot be found prior to the end of the lease. It is surely something you would want to discuss with your landlord. You should review your lease to see if the situation is addressed.


is there a possibility the company will "fix" the problem and reestablish the ability to telecommute?

 

[swalsh411]

You aren't being fired, so if you decide NOT to remain employed under the terms the employer has offered you (returning to the office to perform your job duties), then it would be voluntary unemployment. Most UI eligibility requires that you not refuse work that is available to you, and since this is still available (the job is not being eliminated), then I'm thinking you wouldn't qualify for unemployment.

So by this logic if a company moved from Boston to Dallas all those employees who didn't make the move and lost their jobs would be disqualified from unemployment? I don't think so. OP will not be disqualified for this reason.

 

[MrJenkins]

thank you for the advice guys. I already spoke with my LL and he isn't really happy because I just resigned a lease, but he did say he will place it back on the internet if I need to move.

Also, there is a possibility to get it fixed, but I am not sure how high it is or when it would take place, so they are advising everyone to come back in.

I definitely don't want to be stuck with 2 places to rent waiting to see because I definitely can't afford that.

The thing that sucks is I was granted a move so I could live less than 10 miles from my kid and they wrote a letter to my judge stating they were relocating me to PA (even on company letterhead) and by moving, I'd lose out on all the extra visitation I have fought for.

I know they can terminate me for any reason, it just sucks that you give loyalty to a company for so long and just at a drop of a dime, they can oust you and you're not receiving any benefits.

 

[justalayman]

I know they can terminate me for any reason, it just sucks that you give loyalty to a company for so long and just at a drop of a dime, they can oust you and you're not receiving any benefits.

Welcome to America post 1970

 

[commentator]

Yes, requiring you to move out of state, or relocate to another state is not really a valid offer of available work. They consider how far you have been traveling in your usual performance of the work, and what would be involved in asking you to relocate. So your chances of being approved for unemployment IF you hang in and let them terminate you by telling them you do not wish to relocate is pretty good.

I will never tell anyone yes it's a sure thing!

Be sure you give them every opportunity to work this out so that you can remain where you are, emphasize that you do not wish to give up the job, and that you moved to the new location with their blessing. DO NOT resign, or let them say you have quit the job.Emphasize that this termination is their decision, that you are very willing to continue working for them in your present location, you are just unable to relocate back to the former job site.

But remember, unemployment benefits are not going to be anything near as good as the money you would make working. It will probably be tough to find a job in the exact area where you now live. So think long and hard before you refuse to move back to their headquarters where you have a job. Keep in mind that even if you do move they could theoretically fire you tomorrow for any reason anyway.

 

[MrJenkins]

Hey thanks everyone for you information

Since then, all the other employees have returned back to the office. I explained that I would not be able to move and if they had to let me go, I'd understand as that is the business of things.

I took a day off work. The next day they called me on my cell and offered to let me continue working out of state, but since I cannot connect to the phone system to make calls (and thus, my phone won't work), I will have to install a LL or use my cell phone to make work calls.

They stated since I was a good worker and they didn't have to worry about me, I did not need to be monitored through their system on my performance, so my use of a phone outside the system would be ok.

They did state they cannot reimburse me for either the land line or cell phone if I choose this route.

Obviously getting a land line is not an issue as it's an extra 30 dollars per month and my cell as unlimited minutes (but crappy coverage sometimes)

They want me to sign an agreement stating as such. I just want to make sure it is legal for us to trade this "perk" before I sign it.

Also, what other things should I do to protect myself. I was thinking of a land line and use it strictly for work so they don't somehow confiscate my phone/records/text somehow on my cell if I used it for work too

 

[commentator]

I would think that a separate land line would be an awfully good idea. Some cabe and internet plans throw in the land line for practically nothing, but do you have to then pay for Long Distance? Gee, haven't heard that term in years! But I definitely wouldn't try to work with them on your personal cell phone. No sense mixing things up that way.

 

[BigMouthWino]

Congratulations, sounds like it all worked out for the best for you!

Obtain a land line immediately. Do not attempt to service their customers with your cell phone. Use the landline only for the business and you can deduct its cost from your income at the end of the year.

As long as all the agreement states is that you will obtain a phone line and be personally liable for all of the charges in consideration of your continued employment with the company, sign it and save a copy as proof of your need to have the line for work in case you ever face questions from the tax authorities.

 

[Proseguru]

thank you for the advice guys. I already spoke with my LL and he isn't really happy because I just resigned a lease, but he did say he will place it back on the internet if I need to move.
.

LL needs to do this .. its called mitigating ... sounds like your LL is a decent guy ... you can place ads too (craigslist etc...maybe kick in 100-200 bucks for 3 months to get people in)

 

[davew128]

As long as all the agreement states is that you will obtain a phone line and be personally liable for all of the charges in consideration of your continued employment with the company, sign it and save a copy as proof of your need to have the line for work in case you ever face questions from the tax authorities.

Yes. Because a $360 total annual expense subject to 2% of AGI on Schedule A and likely derives no tax benefit whatsoever is going to be a major topic of discussion under audit.