Pennsylvania unemployment question

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have worked for a company 5yrs and they have been leasing my office space in a building owned by a doctor. This doc sold out last year to a big healthcare company and now works for them. This big company now wants me out of the leased space so they can bring in there own person to do my job. I signed a contract with current company years ago for at-will and a no compete. For some reason they are trying to make me sign this contract again when I questioned it they said the only thing that changed was that they made me a salary change and that’s why I had to sign a new one. Furthermore I have emailed and called my bosses to no end lately that the new company has been harrasing me on a daily basis about where am I going to go when I have to leave the leased space. The new comp wants to renovate and tear down my office, I was told by my boss to put up a sign telling them the space is leased and to not touch it. When I did this the new big comp boss came by to argue with me on this. When I tried to contact my boss my emails were ignored as well as phone calls. I have panic anxiety noted by my doc and was so stressed outthat I had a panic attack. I was put in the middle of a situation that I have no control over or authority to provide the answers this comp wants. So now what?

  1. If I do have to leave the building I was told I will still have a job, but it would be traveling and start at 3am in the morning. Can they make me travel when my old position didn’t include traveling (my current position for yrs now has ben a set start time of 7am) and I’m a single mom that can’t leave her kid at 3 in the morning.
  2. Does the new position have to be on a bus route so I can get there?
  3. The new job is further away from home does this matter?
  4. Since they want me to sign a new agreement does this make the old one null and void?

I know this is long but I don’t know where to get answers and can’t afford a lawyer. If you have read this far Thanks any advice would be appreciated:confused:

2

Welcome to the SDMB, ceesgirl. Since you’re looking for advice, I’m moving this from General Questions to our advice-giving forum, IMHO.

3

I don’t quite understand how you’d have a contract and your job is at-will. Normally an employment contract lays out the terms of employment and how it can be terminated. Did you have a lawyer review the contract before signing? Regardless, I’d suggest that you contact a lawyer who understands employment law and get some advice about the agreement that you signed.

4

If you can’t afford a lawyer, some, if not all, of the state’s law schools run clinics for people in your position. If the clinic can’t help you, they should be able to refer you to someone who can. These are lawyer questions that may be state-specific, and since you’re dealing with a contract, it’s best that you have a lawyer who understands the specifics of that contract and the vagaries of state law.

5

H/R worker here.

Companies, absent a collective bargaining agreement, can make you do anything that is not illegal or discriminatory in nature.

So would anything the new company asking fall into those categories?

Very few companies actually sign employment contracts, with anyone but the top management. Most of the times it’s simply a works statement, but it is possible yours is an actual contract.

You say you have an employment agreement and a no compete? A no compete may or may not be enforceable. It depends what’s in it. As a general rule, your right will trump the agreement.

For instance, if you were a hairdresser, a non compete saying you wouldn’t work as a hairdresser for five years in your town, probably would not be enforceable. Because it’s a skill and your right to make a living trumps that.

On the other hand, if you were a secretary and you agreed not to work in another doctor’s office for five years, that probably would be enforceable. Because there are lots of jobs for secretaries in non medical areas.

The idea is no agreement can hinder your ability to earn a living so greatly that you become a public charge.

For the new things at your job, the employer has a right to change it, absent a union agreement or other contractual agreement.

Can you quit and qualify for unemployment? That depends. If the new conditions present an undue hardship and are substantially different, then yes you can quit and collect.

For instance, my company runs three shifts, morning, afternoon and overnight. If someone has to change from morning to afternoon and quits, I’ve never had the unemployment arbitrator call this a hardship. If someone is on the afternoon or morning and gets put on overnights, and quits, I have had the unemployment arbitrator say, “Yes it’s a hardship” and they give him the unemployment

Just what is a hardship, will only be known once you actually quit and apply for unemployment

6

Yes they can. It’s a new position. Your option is to not take it.

No, they’re not obligated to accomodate you traveling. Even if signed something saying your position would be located on a bus route, you said it was at-will. They’ve decided to end the old position so that no longer applied.

No.

You said the old position was at-will, so the old one is null and void because they’ve decided to end it. The fact that they want you to sign a new one may be an indication that the old one was canceled but signing it doesn’t negate the old one. They don`t need you to sign a new one to negate the old one if, as you said, they’re free to end it at will.