Employer Can Terminate an At-Will Worker at Any Time

Q: I was a salaried, at-will employee who resigned, giving two weeks’ notice in writing to my employer. My new position was to begin at the end of that period.

However, my employer told me to leave the following day, resulting in two weeks’ lost income. What are my rights? Can I claim unemployment insurance for the two-week period?

--J.L., Fullerton

A: Your employer was within his rights in terminating you prior to the expiration of your two-week notice period. Because you were an at-will employee, your employer legally could terminate you at any time for any reason. Particularly where management or sales employees--or employees with access to confidential or proprietary business information--are involved, many employers are reluctant to allow the employee to stay longer, for fear of adverse effects such as negative impact on worker morale, theft of trade secrets or sabotage.

You are probably eligible for unemployment benefits because your termination was not the result of misconduct. Note, however, that there is a one-week waiting period before unemployment benefits begin to accrue.

--James J. McDonald Jr.

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips

Labor law instructor, UC Irvine

Per Diem Workers and Unions

Q: I work in Los Angeles at a large hospital. I work 40 hours per week, or 80 hours per pay period. Although I am scheduled to work on a regular basis, I am considered a per diem employee.

I enjoy my profession and place of work and am paid a premium because I receive no benefits such as vacation time, health benefits, paid time off, holiday pay or retirement benefits. But I’m wondering if per diem employees can unionize?

--R.R., Los Angeles

A: The National Labor Relations Act guarantees employees the right to organize labor unions, to engage in union activities without fear of reprisal and to refrain from such activities.

The term “employee” is interpreted broadly. It includes part-time workers, temporary employees and casual employees. Government employees, agricultural employees, domestic workers and independent contractors are excluded.

Though temporary and casual employees are protected from retaliation for union activities, they are not permitted to vote in union elections. From your question, it appears that you are not a temporary or casual employee because you work regularly and have a reasonable expectation of continued employment.

You may wish to discuss your problem with a shop steward or other union representative or, if your hospital is nonunion, with one of the many labor unions representing hospital employees.

--Joseph L. Paller Jr.

Union-employee attorney

Gilbert & Sackman

Commute or Get Unemployment?

Q: My company is moving my work group, along with many others, from a downtown Los Angeles location to Orange County. The current location is convenient for me, but the new location would require a commute of one to two hours each way. I don’t want to take that time away from what little personal life I have. It also would be dangerous, because my vision limitations require that I be very alert when driving.

If I quit the job when the move takes place and have not yet lined up another job, can I collect unemployment since the job was lost because of the change in location?

--M.S., West Los Angeles

A: It is unclear from your question whether or not you could collect unemployment. There is a general proposition that if the change in locations requires an unreasonable commute, that may constitute good cause for resigning employment. If that is the case, you would be entitled to unemployment benefits.

If your additional commute is only one hour, you probably do not have good cause to quit, unless there are unusual circumstances. If, however, it is closer to two hours, you probably do. You may want to contact the California Employment Development Department to discuss your situation.

--Michael A. Hood

Employment law attorney

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

Conducting Effective Meetings

Q: I work for a manager who has mandatory meetings every week, but his meetings are run very unprofessionally. There is no agenda. Sometimes everyone speaks at once; at other times we just sit around while our manager rambles on about nothing.

Do you think I should talk to my manager about this, or are most department meetings this unproductive?

--T.T., Canoga Park

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A: Conducting an effective and productive departmental meeting requires careful planning and execution on the part of the person in charge. It sounds as if your manager has some difficulties in this area.

I think you should mention your concerns to your manager. You might approach the manager with an offer to help plan and run the meetings (if you are so inclined).

There are a number of good management guides and textbooks that offer tips on running effective business meetings. Well-run meetings can be an effective tool for making departmental decisions, communicating with and motivating employees, brainstorming and setting departmental goals.

It would be a shame if your department continued to use valuable work time so unproductively.

--Ron Riggio, director

Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College