Expert: Timmy Chou - 3/23/2010

Question
My company is offering me a salary continuation if I agree to sign a release document.  The payment schedule was recently modified two months ago against my favor.  Do I have any right to dispute the payment schedule?  Is there any law/requirement that indicates that changes to the salary continuation fee schedule needs to be in place for X amount of months?  What prevents an organization from changing the payment schedule one day before a company wide reduction?

Answer
Thank you for your question!

If you have looked at my other answers you will see that I always note that mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

The case you describe here is very typical.  I cannot mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.

Note that this may have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult a labor attorney.

I often tell people that it may be useful to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems.  For most large organizations there is only expedient and inexpedient.  Also, there is a cost to exacting justice and the costs can be quite high.  Remember that your person-hood and your work are not even remotely related and that the most successful people at work are often the least successful with others since they have often become successful on the bodies of those they have slain.

You are dealing with authority figures who are only interested in the path of least resistance in terms of how they manage the business.  I'm guessing they could care less about you so don't put too much emotional investment in your position--its not personal.  That said, your company is changing its relationship with you for business reasons and now you must try to create business reasons to deal more fairly with you.

Generally speaking you cannot be retroactively denied compensation you have earned or were promised, however there may be employment terms and conditions which allow the practice.  Please begin by documenting a very careful chronology of events as they have occurred.  Names, dates and locations.  Put things in writing in a careful chronology.  In many states you can be fired for just about any reason without a problem.  These are known as "right to work" states.  However, you cannot be treated differently than other workers nor can your contract be violated, nor can policies and procedures of the company be overlooked.

You must get copies of any employment contracts or policies and procedures and begin to review these.  If you have a clear roadmap for pursuing a grievance, by all means follow that procedure, but now is the time to send a demand letter by registered mail to the company, stating your grievance and any policy violations (cite the policy) and your demands for satisfaction.  

Many states have Employment Commissions or other employment offices where you can file a complaint for free.  You should contact them right away, discuss your options and file a complaint.  You may also be able to file a complaint with the US Dept of Labor.  Find their offices.

If you have Union, industry or trade advocacy organizations available to you that can assist you try to contact them.  If you have journalists or press options available, try to contact them.  If you have representatives or senators or local state or municipal elected officials you can contact, do so.  

Be sure to send copies of any demand letters and any other proof or correspondence to all these people when you contact them and note in the letter all the people you are copying.  Your company must see that you are not going away and that it will cost a lot more to deal with all the problems you will cause them for their practices and then they will make a business decision and deal fairly with you.  

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.

For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:
 Confidential, no public record
 Limited exchange of documentation, information
 Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
 Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
 Cheaper than litigation
 Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

 It's a compromise, no 100% winner
 Complex arbitration can be costly
 If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
 Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
 Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

 Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
 Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
 Can be quicker than litigation
 Less costly than litigation
 Preserves business relationships
 85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

 may not reach a binding decision
 unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

 a clear winner and loser
 uses a prescribed set of procedures
 more predictable outcomes
 is final

Negatives of Litigation:

 waiting for court dates can do more harm
 usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
 part of the public record