Employer reduces full-time hours to part-time hours over phone

[CPryor84]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Colorado

To give a little background on my situation, I was hired in June 2014 for a full-time cross-functional, dominantly administrative role at a company. I worked full-time through August 2014 and at the beginning of September 2014, I was involved a very serious head-on collision in a company car. The other driver was at fault, but have been struggling to heal from my injuries. My work restrictions began with no work for 6 weeks, then it progressed to 4-6 hours per day without out-of-state travel for work, and in January 2015, the hourly work restriction was lifted. I am still unable to travel out-of-state for work until January 2016.

As of December 10, 2014, my company's owner signed a document stating that he was going to change me from a salary position to hourly due to the hourly work restriction caused by the accident. Additionally, the document read that he would be hiring full-time personnel in order to meet his company needs (as I could not fill the role at that moment). After the hourly work restriction was lifted in January 2015, he had hired another individual to perform my duties/role with the company. From that point, my job duties have changed drastically, but I have continued to work full-time there regardless if I wanted to do those duties or not.

Here it is October 2015 and my duties/roles have changed numerous times since January and today the owner calls me over the phone saying that since my travel restriction is not lifted until January 2016, he would like for me to only work two days per week (16 hours). I cannot feasibly do this and keep up my bills. What should my next step be? Write a letter to him and send it certified mail that states I would like to keep my hours at 40/hr per week? He is reluctant to lay me off because I feel that he is wanting to avoid UI benefits. However, this job is 60 miles from my home and I cannot afford to drive down for just two days a week. Additionally, after doing the calculations from my pay stubs, the weekly UI benefits that I would get is $426.00. If I continued to work part time for his company (2 days a week), I would be getting $307.68/wk before taxes and before the gas that I put into my vehicle to drive down. What do I need to do in order to let him know that the part-time was not part of our original terms and conditions of employment and it is no longer suitable employment if I am moved to 2 days a week? We do not have a contract stating that I am a full-time employee, but I do have pay stubs that show my hours for each pay period and also the document stating that he is in need of a full-time employee to replace me during my work restrictions caused by the auto accident.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have never filed a claim with UI in any state, so I really do not know how it works, but I do know that two days a week is well under the benefits I would receive from UI while I seek suitable employment.

Thanks,

CP

 

[adjusterjack]

Here it is October 2015 and my duties/roles have changed numerous times since January and today the owner calls me over the phone saying that since my travel restriction is not lifted until January 2016, he would like for me to only work two days per week (16 hours). I cannot feasibly do this and keep up my bills. What should my next step be? Write a letter to him and send it certified mail that states I would like to keep my hours at 40/hr per week? He is reluctant to lay me off because I feel that he is wanting to avoid UI benefits. However, this job is 60 miles from my home and I cannot afford to drive down for just two days a week. Additionally, after doing the calculations from my pay stubs, the weekly UI benefits that I would get is $426.00. If I continued to work part time for his company (2 days a week), I would be getting $307.68/wk before taxes and before the gas that I put into my vehicle to drive down. What do I need to do in order to let him know that the part-time was not part of our original terms and conditions of employment and it is no longer suitable employment if I am moved to 2 days a week? We do not have a contract stating that I am a full-time employee, but I do have pay stubs that show my hours for each pay period and also the document stating that he is in need of a full-time employee to replace me during my work restrictions caused by the auto accident.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have never filed a claim with UI in any state, so I really do not know how it works, but I do know that two days a week is well under the benefits I would receive from UI while I seek suitable employment.

Bottom line: Your job and your hours are what your employer says it is when he says it. You aren't going to change that. Objecting to the change in writing is the worst thing you can do because it could be used against you for UI as refusing work.

You aren't going to change his mind so I suggest you accept the change without argument and make darned sure you document what he's doing to you.

Meantime, look for another job.

If you haven't found one by the time the change in hours comes along, don't quit, just file for unemployment based on a substantial reduction in hours. As long as you are still working you may be eligible for partial benefits.

If you then get fired for filing UI you'll be eligible for full benefits.

There's a strategy here without quitting or threatening to quit that you have to follow otherwise you'll be out of a job with no benefits while you take many months to go through the appeal process.

 

[CPryor84]

Bottom line: Your job and your hours are what your employer says it is when he says it. You aren't going to change that. Objecting to the change in writing is the worst thing you can do because it could be used against you for UI as refusing work.

You aren't going to change his mind so I suggest you accept the change without argument and make darned sure you document what he's doing to you.

Meantime, look for another job.

If you haven't found one by the time the change in hours comes along, don't quit, just file for unemployment based on a substantial reduction in hours. As long as you are still working you may be eligible for partial benefits.

If you then get fired for filing UI you'll be eligible for full benefits.

There's a strategy here without quitting or threatening to quit that you have to follow otherwise you'll be out of a job with no benefits while you take many months to go through the appeal process.

Thank you for the clarification! I greatly appreciate it. I read somewhere else it was a good idea to write a letter stating that you refuse the change from full-time to part-time, but I am glad that you spoke up and clarified that. It definitely makes sense the way that you explained it. One thing that I do question though is this (from Colorado.gov):

"Quitting Your Job

You have the right to leave a job for any reason at any time, but the circumstances of the separation will determine if and when you will receive benefits.

Discharged or Other Reasons

You may still be eligible for payment if you were discharged from your job. A partial list of qualifying separation reasons includes:

domestic violence
personal harassment by the employer not related to the job performance
hazardous working conditions
medical conditions

We will review the circumstances of your job separation to determine if you are eligible for benefits."

I have doctor's orders with travel restrictions (which would be considered a medical condition). The new role that my company has placed me in requires out-of-state travel. However, I cannot do that until the beginning of next year, so as I read this it seems as if one quit/separated from their job due to a medical condition or restriction then he/she would be considered eligible for full UI benefits. Am I reading into this properly?

 

[adjusterjack]

It's not that simple.

According to the statute it seems to me that you would have to quit for medical reasons and then take your chances on submitting medical information and physician's statements to justify the quit. The risk is that you might be without benefits while you are going through that process.

If you are reduced to part time hours and file for unemployment based on reduced hours that seems a lot less of a risk to me.

 

[cbg]

If you are reading it that you are guaranteed unemployment if you lose your job for medical reasons, you are reading it too broadly.

If you are discharged because you have not yet been medically cleared to return to work, then ONCE YOU ARE MEDICALLY CLEARED TO WORK you can usually collect unemployment if all the other criteria have been met.

If you quit your job because they are no longer able to accommodate your restrictions, the chances lessen.

 

[CPryor84]

It's not that simple.

According to the statute it seems to me that you would have to quit for medical reasons and then take your chances on submitting medical information and physician's statements to justify the quit. The risk is that you might be without benefits while you are going through that process.

If you are reduced to part time hours and file for unemployment based on reduced hours that seems a lot less of a risk to me.

Thanks for the advice and clarifications, cbg and adjusterjack. I was told today via a phone call to work 2 days per week (16 hours total) effective immediately. This week, I have already accrued 26 hours, so tomorrow and Friday will not be working. The change is effective immediately, so I should file an unemployment claim for partial benefits tomorrow, correct? That is the safest route to take it sounds like. From what I read on Colorado.gov, it also stated this:

"WHAT IF I AM WORKING?

Any employment (full-time, part-time, temporary assignments, short-term contracts, or cash-in-hand jobs, such as mowing lawns and babysitting) must be reported when you call CUBLine or visit CUBLine Online to request payment of UI benefits.

Working 32 or more hours in a week is considered full-time employment. If you work 32 or more hours in any given week, UI benefits cannot be paid for that week.

If you are working part-time while continuing to request UI benefits based on full-time earnings, you must continue to seek full-time work and meet all of the other eligibility requirements.

You may earn, in gross wages, up to 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount in any given week before earnings have any effect on the UI benefits for that week. Earnings over 25 percent of your weekly benefit amount, but less than your weekly benefit amount, are subtracted dollar-for-dollar from that week’s UI benefits. Once your earnings in a given week equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount, UI benefits are not paid for that week. UI benefits that cannot be paid based on hours or earnings are not subtracted from your maximum benefit amount; rather, they remain available for you to claim during the benefit year.

EXAMPLE:

Your weekly benefit amount is $200 (25 percent = $50).

If you worked 32 or more hours in a given week, regardless of the wages you earned during that time, UI benefits for that week are not paid.

If you worked fewer than 32 hours in a given week and:

You earned $50 or less, the earnings do not affect your UI benefit amount for that week.
You earned $51, your UI benefit amount for that week is $199.
You earned $200 or more, UI benefits for that week are not paid."

On the Colorado UI estimator, my estimation was $426 per week. So say I continue to work two days pay (16 hours) and that is equivalent to $307.68 (before taxes) on $19.23/hr pay. Therefore, I understand this as, I would work two days and receive the $307.68 (clear whatever that equates to after taxes) and UI would cover the remaining $118.32 of the $426 each week. Am I understanding this correctly? I apologize for all of the questions, but I am a newbie at this and am just trying to understand all the laws, regulations, etc. Your advice has been very educational and has increased my knowledge on what the next steps in the process will be. Again, I can't thank you enough for your time and advice with my questions.

Side note: if I file a claim for partial unemployment, I should not notify my employer before doing so, correct?

Best regards,

CP

 

[adjusterjack]

The change is effective immediately, so I should file an unemployment claim for partial benefits tomorrow, correct?

Yes, tomorrow.

As to calculations of benefits, I have no clue, but there seems to be some instructions online about calculating your benefits before you file and it looks like you can begin your claim online:

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdle/unemployment

 

[LdiJ]

Yes, tomorrow.

As to calculations of benefits, I have no clue, but there seems to be some instructions online about calculating your benefits before you file and it looks like you can begin your claim online:

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdle/unemployment

And yes you should not notify your employer.

 

[commentator]

No, you do not have to calculate your own benefits before you file. You do not have the capability to do this. They will ask about how many hours a week you have worked, and weeks run from Sunday to Saturday, regardless of how your pay comes to you. Pay is to be figured hourly, whether you are salaried or whatever. As long as you know this, you're fine.

This will not be a quiz and you will not have to have it all figured out before filing.

But file the claim for partial benefits tomorrow. Because this was not a work related injury, and you have not yet been fully released by your doctor, this may very well keep you from receiving benefits if you start talking about it with the unemployment system.

If you spend a lot of time explaining why your hours are being reduced at this time to the unemployment system at the present, they'll spend a bit more time looking at your health and may very well determine that you will not be eligible for unemployment benefits until you are fully released by your doctor. Just don't.

Yes, if your employer terminates you due to a health condition, or cuts your hours and changes your job duties in an effort to get rid of you and gets you to quit due to a health related fully documented condition, you have a pretty good chance of being eligible for benefits, but in order to begin to draw them, you must also be fully able, available and actively seeking other work. If you are still under the doctor's care with some restrictions from a non-work related injury, you may not qualify due to this availability issue.

Just file for partial benefits, stating that your work hours have been reduced, and that you are working all the hours the company has available for you. End of story. DO NOT go into why they're treating you this way and why the hours are reduced. This will set up your claim, even if the company increases your hours until you are not eligible for partial unemployment and keeps jacking with you. They might fire you for filing a claim, but I doubt it. Most of them pretty much know this is an almost automatic approval, and they do not like to have employees draw unemployment from them, as this causes their tax rates to increase.

What they are trying to do is force you to quit. At this point, try not to quit, as this would really hurt your chances to be approved for unemployment and would also decimate your income. If you can't live on a few hours, don't expect to get unemployment approved soon enough to keep you afloat with no hours, even if you do get it eventually. Keep working, even if you have to supplement the work with partial unemployment benefits. Looking for another job is a good way to go in this situation, with or without unemployment benefits.

By the way, was there no chance you qualified for FMLA in this situation? You seem to have been with the company over a year.

 

[cbg]

Based on the dates he provides, he would not have become eligible for FMLA until June of 2015. It sounds as if he has been working full time for much of the time since then.

 

[commentator]

OOps, I looked at this before coffee.