Hiring company no longer has work where we live and forces employees to travel to where they want them.

by Donny
(Dallas, TX)

2 years ago my husband was hired and worked in our local area, Dallas Tx, on a full time basis. In the past 4 months they have had him and the others who live here and work for the company, traveling to other states to work. They now have them in FL and are now sending his paystubs to his FL work site. The bosses said "that as far as they're concerned, all the workers there are Floridians" and they will not be returning to TX for work. Does my husband qualify for unemployment under the "substantial change in hiring agreement"? He never signed any paperwork with this company either. Only a W-4 form. What are his rights?




Hi Donny,

Let me just say that after four months of working under these "new" and "subtantially" different conditions of employment .. quitting with good cause due to the change becomes progressively more difficult because with a "period of time" comes the ability to deny benefits for quitting since the longer you stay your own acceptance of the new conditions becomes more evident.

This is how employees assist their employers in avoiding a layoff .. which is of course without defense when it comes to terminating employment.

You need to read Texas precedents .. because no matter what the employer thinks now .. the majority, if not all of your husbands base period wages will be from TX employment.

So even if they have to file in Florida and Florida does deny benefits .. they can then file in TX because wages were earned in Texas.

Texas unemployment decisions as explained by Texas

If they closed locations in Texas and had no further work available in Texas that separation is what I would call a lack of work claim.

If they offered positions in Florida .. nobody "forced" anybody. It was offered and the distance to the new work could be good cause for refusal of the work.

The problem now is that it's been four months and only now is anyone asking if there is now good cause to quit .. that is the problem because four months time may be seen as accepting the new terms and conditions of continuing to work for this employer.

It's a problem because the separation that controls any claim for unemployment is the separation from the "most recent work".