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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Forced to Resign

    My friend has been working for the same atty for about 7 years. The first year she worked there, she worked thru her lunch and no breaks. When she brought this to her bosses attention, the boss agreed to shut the phones off for 1 hour. Last year, the boss decided she can't afford to pay for her benefits anymore so had my friend (she is the sec'y) call and cancel her own medical benefits. My friend called the insurance company, they told her it was illegal for her boss to do this and she should report her. She didnt want to report it for fear of loosing her job. So for the last year, she has had no medical benefits and her salary didnt get adjusted to reflect this. She is a full time employee and the other girl in the office does have benefits. She thinks if she reports it, the boss will then put her down to a part time employee so she doesnt have to pay for her benefits. My friend also would not be able to pay her bills with a part time job.

    The last thing was my friend was out for two weeks because she had surgery. When she came back, one of the bosses friends was in the office. The bosses friend made some comment about my friends surgery. My friend said, my surgery is confidential and Im upset that "the boss" told you about it. The woman then said, oh, i didnt know you didnt want anyone to know, so and so had the same surgery and she is very open about it.

    She also said that her boss makes nasty comments all the time that are degrading and insulting. She believes her boss wants her to quit so she won't have to pay unemployment benefits.

    Is there justification for resigning in NYS and getting unemployment benefits. Does it sound as though my friend would be eligible to resign and collect unemployment while she searches for another job?

    I would appreciate anyone insight who is familiar with NYS labor law.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Forced to Resign

    Wages can be reduced. Benefits can be reduced. There's no law that says employers can only increase wages and benefits. It's also not illegal for a boss to have a bad personality or to be mean.

    If your friend doesn't like her job, she should dust off her résumé and start looking for alternatives. If she quits, although there's no cost in applying, she should anticipate not getting unemployment benefits.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Forced to Resign

    Mr. Knowitall, thanks for your reply, however, we're not talking about benefits being "reduced". We're talking about them being "voided". This is illegal. She has been looking for another job, my question is more along the lines that, her boss is making it almost impossible for her to stay there. In cases like that, can she quit and collect umemployment so she can search for another job. The newest thing now is, she's not granting her time off, one interview was missed because of it. (The time off is her "earned time")

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    2,357

    Default Re: Forced to Resign

    I'm sorry I missed this thread originally.

    Which benefits exactly? Medical insurance, for example, if under a group insurance plan is highly regulated. Is it a group plan? If so, she can report the employer to the federal Dept. of Labor.

    Relative to earned time off, are you talking about vacation? If so, the employer can deny requests for time off.

    Relative to the surgery, although it was unprofessional for the boss to say anything to another employee, it was not illegal.

    Nasty comments regarding what? No bad language, please, just the gist of them.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Forced to Resign

    How many employees does the attorney have? And in what state is this?Contrary to what the insurance company said, there are only two states where the employer is required by law to provide medical benefits and in both those states, there is a minimum number of employees that the employer must have before they are required to provide them.

    In the other 48 states, the employer may LEGALLY cancel benefits for their employees.

    Or are you saying that other employees kept their benefits, and only your friend had them cancelled? That would be a different story.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Il.(near StL,Mo.)
    Posts
    5,252

    Default Re: Forced to Resign

    Quote Quoting cbg
    View Post
    And in what state is this?
    It seems per OP's first post that they are talking New York state labor law.

    New York is not one of the two states that's required to provide medical (health) benefits to employees. However, HadtoPost, note cbg's last paragraph. ("Or are you saying that other employees kept their benefits, and only your friend had them cancelled? That would be a different story.")

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