Job Doc

Job eliminated, and moved to another state

Pattie Hunt Sinacole discusses at-will employment

Ask the Job Doc. Boston.com

January 22, 2024

2 minutes to read

Q: A question, and I am not sure where to go to for a concise answer. I was recently told that my position was being eliminated at my company. My role is moving to another state, and I think being handled by a team who will be paid less than I am. Several years ago, this happened within my company, but employees were given the option to relocate. The company offered each of those employees a relocation package. Recently none of us have been offered similar roles, or a relocation package. I am just stunned, but I have also been asked to train my replacement, and even travel to this new state to do so.

I am an employee at will and not sure if this is legal or not, could someone help me in understanding my options?

A: This sounds like an unfortunate situation. Though you didn’t share where you are located, I will assume you work in Massachusetts. Employment laws differ between states, and there are significant differences between states with respect to employment-at-will.

Most employees within the US, and in Massachusetts, are employees at-will. Employees working in an at-will arrangement, do not have an employment contract. An at-will employment arrangement gives both the employer and the employee the ability to end the employment relationship at any time. In your situation, since you are an at-will employee, your employer can terminate your employment at time. However, your employer still needs to be careful of other employment laws.

If you are at-will, your employer does not have to find you another role in the US. They also do not have to offer you relocation. However, that does not mean you cannot ask about open positions within your current location. Some employees are ok with performing another role, while others prefer to leave the company.

Employers still need to exercise caution when terminating employees. If an employee participated in a protected activity like whistle blowing, and then was terminated, this termination may face legal challenges. Terminations should also be reviewed to ensure that the termination is not based on an employee’s membership in a protected class (e.g., age, race, color, etc.). Also, a termination could face legal challenges if the employee was on a job-protected leave.

Employees are terminated for a variety of legal business reasons, including a company’s financial performance, moving a company’s operations, outsourcing a function, or a change in business strategy. However, a careful analysis should be performed in advance of an employee termination.

Some additional information on employment terminations can be found on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s website https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-employment-termination