I'm also not a lawyer, but wouldn't getting fired for not showing up to work be for-cause, thus excluding you from unemployment benefits? My understanding (which isn't clarified in the article) is these employees weren't hired to be remove, they were hired at an office.
Changing working location could be a contract change, and (at least in the netherlands), employees cant be forced to accept contract changes or resign.
It really depends on what your employment agreement says. If it specifically stipulates that your position is “remote” and your company decides to change that, you could argue that your agreement would need to be renegotiated and their breaking of the contract would entitle you to whatever remedies are in the contract for you when that happens. Hopefully you have a remedy beyond “you stop working for us and we stop paying you”.
My guess is that most larger company agreements post-Covid will have a clause that defines that they have the ability to determine the employee’s work location with at-will covering the employee’s option.
If you think about it—historically, an organization could move its office and most employees did not have a final say in the location. Companies might try to find locations in a workable proximity for most employees, and relocation help options if it’s a bigger move. However, generally it was if it didn’t work for you…you found a new job. Covid and remote work changed the dynamics a bit, but with the state of tech employment levels today technology pros may not have much flexibility to push back.
Given the mad max employment law, I am just hoping (?) that there are some restrictions on this. Otherwise, why would a company ever do layoffs? Just have an employment clause that you can be relocated at any time.
“Yeah, next week we are going to need you to be at work in the Alaska office. Following week, your butt needs to be in Florida. Failure to comply is an instant termination “
