Employer not offering unemployment because selling company

[nyc2014]

can a company sell one of their locations to another company, with the employees? the Seller does not want to provide severance or unemployment benefits to their current employees. They arranged with the new owners, if they keep the current employees for the 90 probation to the new company, then the employees will not be offered unemployment benefits. Once the 90 days probation is completed with the new owner, they intend to drop the pay to minimum wage and make them reapply for all the positions. the new owner said they will not offer unemployment because they are offering the 90 probation instead and was agreed with the sellers. Is this legal to do?

 

[mightymoose]

If the employees are not losing their jobs then unemployment is not even an issue. If there is later a wage dispute then that can be addressed, but there is certainly no obligation to pay unemployment as you are suggesting they do.

 

[army judge]

can a company sell one of their locations to another company, with the employees? the Seller does not want to provide severance or unemployment benefits to their current employees. They arranged with the new owners, if they keep the current employees for the 90 probation to the new company, then the employees will not be offered unemployment benefits. Once the 90 days probation is completed with the new owner, they intend to drop the pay to minimum wage and make them reapply for all the positions. the new owner said they will not offer unemployment because they are offering the 90 probation instead and was agreed with the sellers. Is this legal to do?

Can you sell your home, even if your 12 year daughter says NO WAY, MOM?

Yes, but if you feel something illegal is occurring, I suggest all negatively impacted employes throw in a couple bucks and consult with an attorney in your area.

 

[Betty3]

can a company sell one of their locations to another company, with the employees? the Seller does not want to provide severance or unemployment benefits to their current employees. They arranged with the new owners, if they keep the current employees for the 90 probation to the new company, then the employees will not be offered unemployment benefits. Once the 90 days probation is completed with the new owner, they intend to drop the pay to minimum wage and make them reapply for all the positions. the new owner said they will not offer unemployment because they are offering the 90 probation instead and was agreed with the sellers. Is this legal to do?

I don't see anything illegal here. Severance does not have to be offered. UI would not apply if the employees are going to work for the other employer. It is generally not illegal to drop the pay (as long as not below min. wage) after notice or have the employees apply for the new positions. If an employee later (for example after the 90 day probation) applies for a new position & at that time doesn't get one, the employee can apply for UI at that time.

Again, I don't see anything illegal here unless there is a binding employment contract to the contrary.

The employees are always free to talk to an attorney.

 

[cbg]

can a company sell one of their locations to another company, with the employees? the Seller does not want to provide severance or unemployment benefits to their current employees. They arranged with the new owners, if they keep the current employees for the 90 probation to the new company, then the employees will not be offered unemployment benefits. Once the 90 days probation is completed with the new owner, they intend to drop the pay to minimum wage and make them reapply for all the positions. the new owner said they will not offer unemployment because they are offering the 90 probation instead and was agreed with the sellers. Is this legal to do?

can a company sell one of their locations to another company, with the employees? Yes.

the Seller does not want to provide severance or unemployment benefits to their current employees. No law obligates them to provide severance. It is not within the authority of the employer, either the old or the new employer, to "offer" unemployment benefits. The state, and only the state, decides who gets unemployment. Any "offer" of the employer for unemployment would be unenforceable.

They arranged with the new owners, if they keep the current employees for the 90 probation to the new company, then the employees will not be offered unemployment benefits. As above, the employer does not have the authority to "offer" unemployment benefits. Someone here has a very strange idea of how unemployment works, and it's not me.

Once the 90 days probation is completed with the new owner, they intend to drop the pay to minimum wage and make them reapply for all the positions. Legal.

the new owner said they will not offer unemployment because they are offering the 90 probation instead and was agreed with the sellers. I suspect what the new owner actually said was that they would not offer severance. Which he is not obligated to do. But if he really said unemployment, I will only say once more - the employer does not offer unemployment, and if he does, the state is not under any legal obligation to adhere to any such offer unless the employee would qualify for unemployment anyway.

Is this legal to do? Insofar as what the employer is actually going to end up doing, yes.

Please keep in mind that it is quite, quite common and quite, quite legal for an employer to refuse to offer severance if the employee is keeping their job under the new ownership, and the state is NOT going to approve unemployment for an employee who is working unless there has been an EXTREME change in circumstances. I think someone here, and whether it's you or the employer remains to be seen, believes the employer to have a great deal more power over who gets unemployment than they actually do.

 

[lda01]

cbg, you nailed it well. The only thing I'd add is that I have seen a state (probably CA) award "partial UI benefits" to a claimant for a significant reduction in hours or wage.

 

[cbg]

My state does that too. But even that is not done by the employer's "offer", and it's VERY situation-specific. But I had that in mind when I talked about changes in circumstances.