Suing a current employer

[pinkeysas]

I am hoping someone who reads my husbands and my situation can give me some advise as to whether we have any legal right to fight in our situation:

Currently my husband works for a large corporation who offered him a promotion back in September 2007.

The promotion was for him to begin managing a new store location that was set to begin operating in mid November.

During the months leading up to the November opening of the store to which he was set to manage, he spent his days hiring/recruting/training employees.

Only to be told 1 week before the stores opening that corporate had decided NOT to open the store until the fall of 2008.

At that time my husband was told that he would be considered a "Manager In Waiting" allowing him to keep his promotion pay. At the end of this "MIW" program which is a 3 month program he was told he would be offered a store to manage.

It has now been 3 months and he is being told that they do not have a store available for him and that they will have to demote him back to an assistant manager until the store that he was originally set to manage opens in the fall of 2008.

My question is, can they do this??? He is being demoted and losing a substantial amount of pay for doing nothing wrong!!! Granted the store he was given the raise to manage has had it's opening postponed but again, this is of no fault of his own, yet he is being penalized for it.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can give me their advice on this situation.

[willingtocope]

Wow...sorry to hear this...but, no, I don't think there's much to be done. Companies can pretty much promote and demote at will, and unless you can show some kind of discrimination, I don't think the law will do anything about it.

[hopelesscred]

I am no attorney but I fail to see the claim you would raise in this scenario.

It has now been 3 months and he is being told that they do not have a store available for him and that they will have to demote him back to an assistant manager until the store that he was originally set to manage opens in the fall of 2008.

Do u actually think that suing will help this situation?..or make it worse,such as labeling your husband as a "litigious" problem employee?

My advice?...dont do it--wait it out and hopefully store opens in a few months and he gets his promotion

[pinkeysas]

Ok, in no way am i some sue happy liberal who is salivating at the mouth looking for some big payout...

We are just really being rubbed the wrong way by this whole situation. This is a $14,000 pay cut he will be taking ...so bye bye to our home we were going to buy this year, and for what?????

I just thought that if a company was going to demote you they had to prove a downsizing or at least something that the employee had done wrong to deserve the demotion!!

I'm not trying to look for something that isn't there just to sue and make a quick buck.

[kevin3344]

It has now been 3 months and he is being told that they do not have a store available for him and that they will have to demote him back to an assistant manager until the store that he was originally set to manage opens in the fall of 2008.

It could be the economic realities don't warrant them opening another store at this time...it doesn't mean he's not a good employee or hasn't done a great job. There's just no where to put him.

Now, if he had something in writing that he would get X amount of dollars on X date (regarless of the economic environment at the time) he might have a point. Not sure if you want to sue your current employer however! That won't make them feel too good.

The bottom line is most employment is "at will". That means I can leave my job at anytime and they can really fire me at anytime. The same goes for promotion/demotion within a company. Lots of companies promise promotions and don't give them. I was promised a raise once and never got it. It's not that the company had anything against me, there just wasn't any money at the time.

[hopelesscred]

we are simply trying to save u some grief and $$$....and I'll put it as softly as I can--you have no case, and filing will prob hurt your husband more than help him

[pinkeysas]

He wasn't promised a raise, he already has been being paid the raise since September 2007 and now they want to cut his pay by $14,000/year.

It is understandable that sometimes due to the economy new store openings get changed, but I just don't see how you can take away pay from an employee without any wrong doing by the employee??

A good friend of mine manages a body shop for a major car dealership, and if he ever wants to fire/demote someone he has to have first written them up at least 3 times, showing a trail of wrong doing.

It seems like most of you think this is no big deal, maybe I am just to close to the situation and how badly it's going to effect our lives.....Thank you for all of your input.

[kevin3344]

Anytime anyone is taking money out of your pocket it's tough. I think the company made a mistake giving him the raise in the first place, on the PROMISE of a store opening up. They didn't look at the hard realities of this economic environment and probably shouldn't have done that thinking there MIGHT be a place to put him. It would have been easier if he had never gotten the raise. Now that you're used to the income it's hard to go back.

[hopelesscred]

Its been awhile since I posted on this board..so today is the day I give back.

Before this thread gets out of hand, let me preface by saying this: I sympatize with u on losing 14K in household income and I know that is a sizeable chunk...no one here is saying that this is not a big deal...it surely is a BIG deal to you and hubby.

BUT...once again I fail to see how you can successfully win this case. The only thing I see is that you will piss off your husband's boss and possibly blacklist him against future promotions. furthermore, I cannot see a reputable lawyer taking your case unless he/she is looking to rack fees.

Lets play this out...you are the plaintiff.

I guess you would need to prove malicious intent on the part of the employer..HOW?...there is no store to promote him

Will you argue that hubby should stay at his current salary--why? Are there others earning the same pay without a store? Can u prove it? Or will u say that the employee was negligent in not opening the store in a timely manner? As a result, your hubby deserves to keep his pay?

While you are suing, store does open, do u think he gets it after you served them?

[pinkeysas]

I do understand, I think honestly it is more of a personal anguish that he and I are feeling right now.

Is it fair?? NO but I understand that there is not much to be done about it.

Obviously if we were to sue, it would only be if he left the company all together, i think right now things are a little fresh and we are jumping the gun here with our frustration.

I really do thank you all for your advice.

Hopefully this is one of those things that happens for a reason, I just don't know what that is at the time.....

Thanks.

[jetscarbie]

A 14,000 dollar loss is alot to take in. I would be steaming mad also.

My husband's company promises him raises and stuff all the time. We have learned they are full of BS. They only think about the bottom dollar. LOL

If your husband does get the store promotion soon...tell him to get a contract with the company. It will help protect him.

Good luck!

[VeVe]

I think the company made a mistake giving him the raise in the first place, on the PROMISE of a store opening up.

Absolutely.

Honestly, I'd be thankful that he was given his old position back and wasn't layed off until the new store opened.

Look at is as though he was given a bonus for the past three months, because in actuality, that's what it was. He isn't being demoted because since the store never opened, so he never fully assumed his new role. He was paid extra for the few managerial tasks he did in preperation for the new store.