Two Weeks Notice Gone Wrong
From the mailbag:
In Jan my wife decided that she would take a position in another part of the country and I would be leaving my employer or seeking a transfer to a different location. I sought out advice from the director of sales (exec mgmt) on how to proceed on the local mgmt level. He advised me to notify local mgmt of my situation and continue working without any change. The information was well received from local mgmt and they had no issue at that time.
About 1 month ago the local mgr took me into his office (with a witness) and said that for “budget reasons” he needed to know when I was leaving so he could plan his next fiscal year. I replied that I should be gone by July first, whether it was a transfer or going to another employer (not competition).
Last week he took me into his office (with a witness) and said that effective today we are going to take your 2 week notice and pay you for the next two weeks. Could you please gather your personal belongings and give me your office key? End of conversation!
I have spoke to HR and they have advised me that they would now like to pay me through June 30 and have me sign a release. HR said that by telling them that I was leaving on July 1, I was giving a resignation.
Any ideas on how to proceed?
This is a fun scenario. I am going to throw down the disclaimer that I am not a lawyer so blah blah blah… I am going to take it from two standpoint’s: what they should have done and what they have to do.
What they have to do under law is absolutely nothing assuming a couple of conditions are satisfied:
- You don’t have a policy or contract
- You aren’t in a union with protections
- You aren’t in some state with a unique law about notice
Now I am just going to assume that 2 and 3 aren’t on the table and address number 1. Now you may say you don’t have a contract or a policy doesn’t protect you but if local management accepts your resignation for July 1st without objection and your performance or conduct is not at issue (which is what it sounds like), they could have entered into a verbal contract with you.
From an HR standpoint, I would say that’s where management made the boo boo. By accepting your resignation date and then reneging on what they said they would do, they broke a verbal contract with you.
Now what they should have done whenever they said they were letting you go is give you your entire compensation through July 1. I would not advise people pay notice period unless they feel like it will be a distraction. Otherwise, the employee should be allowed to work through the end of the period.
Here is the kicker: HR wants you to give away your rights for correcting something that was their bad to begin with. Not that requiring a signed release is a bad thing (and I would likely do the same), it is just that in this scenario, the employee is the one with the upper hand. If I were in that scenario, I would say that I would sign a waiver that covers this specific issue. I’d rather not take it up to claims court (but I would if it came down to it) but I’d rather not give up any rights to get what I deserve. If it came out later that there was a pay discrepancy or maybe a discrimination issue that you were involved in, I’d want to keep those rights fully available.
Again, that’s what I would do. I would never sign something that gave away my rights but you may be happy enough with that outcome to just take it. That being said, there are options for recovering including claims and even hiring an attorney if you felt like it. And I would say that before anything, you at least pay for a consultation with an employment law specialist and see if you have any legal rights past the one I mentioned.
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Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...
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Lance, you give way better advice than any lawyer; your post is spot-on.
It sounds to me like this employer was just itchin’ to get rid of the guy; probably best for him to take the money and make as gracious and professional an exit as possible.
Assuming that you don’t have a contract, you are an at-will employee and the employer can let you can at any time for any reason, assuming that it’s not for discriminatory reasons. The employer’s actions in this case were dumb but not illegal. They’re dumb because they send a message to other employees not to give a long notice period, which will harm the company in the long-run. But there’s nothing illegal about moving up your last day. They’re not obligated to pay you through July 1; it doesn’t sound like there was a verbal contract, although perhaps the laws of your state are screwy.
Sign the release and take the pay.
That was supposed to have said “can let you GO at any time for any reason”
Manager,
You are absolutely right he is an at-will employee. If his employer, at the time of his resignation, had simply said “we are just going to cut you loose today and pay you out for two weeks” and not accepted the timeframe of the resignation, then I would agree with you. Crappy thing to do but legal.
The problem with this instance (and the reason why his HR department is trying to get him to sign a release and pay him the full amount) is that the manager agreed to the timeframe and then cut him loose after agreeing to it. Reneging, especially when it comes to a compensation matter, would give the employee cause to pursue to pay claim (just like you would be able to do under any circumstance where you were not paid correctly). A company may be an at-will employer but if you make tacit promises to your employees (either in your employee manual or through verbal agreement with an agent of the company), you should be prepared to honor that.
Hmmm, I’m not sure. If an employee says she’s going to leave for grad school a year and the employer says okay, but then two months later decides to fire her or lay her off for unrelated reasons, they’re still able to do that — they didn’t have a contract that requires them to allow her to work that full year. That said, I’m not an employment lawyer, just someone who has to deal with employment law issues.
I agree with you in principle.
Let’s say for instance that the reason behind the termination was the fact that the employee was underperforming or breaking a workplace rule or even something that was not under the control of the employee (like a downturn in business). There would be justification to terminate employment earlier. But if you have said “Yes, you can work until July 1st” and then you reneg, that’s not okay. That’s why most employment lawyers tell managers to not use phrases like “You can work here as long as you want”, “We’ll retire together” or “You’ll have nothing to worry about with me as your boss.” Those sorts of things can imply continuous employment even without a written contract.
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