How long can an employer send you home without pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How long can an employer send you home without pay?
I was out for about a week and a half with the flu. I called out everyday and messaged my supervisor exactly what was going on. When I finally was well enough to be back at work they told me to go home till they determined my status. I had not used all my points and I had communicated the whole time I was out. However, now I have been home without pay or without them telling me I’m fired for a month. Is this legal?
Asked on April 21, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Unless otherwise mandated under the terms of a union agreement or employment contract, a company can simply stop scheduling a worker without first providing them notice of heir termination. The fact is that in an "at will" work relationship, an employee can be discharged for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. So unless your treatment consituted some form of actionable discrimination, you treatment was perfectly permissable under the law. That having been said, since it's been a month and you have not been re-scheduled for hours to work, you can claim "constuctive discharge" and apply for unemployment benefits (assuming you are in all other ways eligible).
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Yes, this is legal; your employer does not have to formally fire you, but can simply stop scheduling you for work--the law does not require notice of termination of employment. Under the circumstances, you can likely consider yourself to have been "constructively" (or effectively) fired and apply for unemployment benefits (assuming you are otherwise eligible).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.