Company taking over mine is trying to avoid paying unemployment by offering lower-paying jobs - is this legal?

Question

A company is buying the company I work for - they are offering crappy jobs that pay less and when people turn them down, they give up their right to unemployment, essentially being laid off but not getting their benefits. Is there a legal threshold for how much less they can offer?

Answer 1

You won't like the answer. I don't have to say it, you know what it is.

Answer 2

In most states, if you are offered a job and don't take it, they can deny unemployment benefits. Granted a pay cut is awful, but what if you never find a job at your prior level and your benefits run out? You are then left unemployed and no check. Most people after losing a job especially in this economy will find that even if they can find work in their prior profession end up with a salary much less than they got in their prior job. Today it is an employers market. They can get the most experience and pay a lot less, since if that person rejects, there will be another 100 people in line willing to take. Haven't you heard where some websites that after posting a job, they got 800 hits w/in 15 minutes and shutting it down. You could imagine that after 3 days, they probably got 5,000 resumes. good luck

Answer 3

The rules on this vary from state to state, but typically, there are some circumstances in which you can turn down a job without losing your right to unemployment. For example, one state specifies that if the job pays less than the prevailing wage and pays less than 80% of what the old job paid. Check with the unemployment office for the rules in your state.

Answer 4

They have to offer you a job within one pay grade of what you were making or you can file for UE

Answer 5

It's all about business my friend, the worker is merely a cog in the machinery; easily replaceable and virtually worthless.

So the answer is yes...they can do whatever they want.

Answer 6

Check the local Labor Relations board; but I don't think so unless you are working under contract.