Can my employer refuse my letter of resignation? a letter from HR came in the mail ten days after my letter of resignation stating that HR refused the letter of resignation.

It depends on your relationship with the company. If you have a contract for a specified amount of time, then yes, they can refuse you. Read your contract, if you have a copy (you should). It definitly should have a clause that you or the employer may terminate the contract at any time for any reason. It’s pretty standard in most contracts, if memory serves. If it does, then their letter means nothing.

If it doesn’t, though, then you may have a problem. In that case, they may be able to reject it. You’d have to get a lawyer’s opinion at that point (or someone more schooled in law then me), because there may be (and hopefully is) something on the books that says that an employer can’t force you to work, but I don’t know. Good luck!

I am not an attorney and this is based on many years of HR experience in small companies in NY and NC,

It would help if we knew in which State or Province you worked, laws vary by State and by country.
Most US employees are not covered by an employment contract unless working at a fairly high level withing the company. You are probably an employee-at-will.

No one can be compelled to work against their will, at any time, in any place or for any reason within the USA. This is called involuntary servitude and was outlawed in the 1860’s.

If you resign, you can resign at any time without any requirement to work for the employer any more, however:::

the employer is not required to pay you beyond the actual hours or days that you are actively at work,
the employer is not required to pay you for any time between the date you resign and the effective date of your resignation. You might give two week’s notice and the employer could tell you to leave at the end of the day and not pay you for any time past that.
The employer must pay you accrued or unused vacation time in general but this is governed by State law and your employee handbook. The same applies to other paid time off.
The employer is not required to pay you any benefits past the date of resignation, subject to the terms in your employee handbook, State and Federal law and the individual group insurance contracts that the company has signed. In my company, medical insurance ends on the date of separation, in some companies benefits will end on the last day of the month.

That is a short version.

If HR rejected your resignation, find out why. If there is something in your letter that they may not agree with, then that could be the reason for the rejection. If you say I resign tomorrow but expect vacation time to be paid through August 31, they might bounce the letter. That is just a poor example of what might be up.

If there is any confusion on your part, consult an attorney.

Again I am not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice.

SRM

Your situation is very simple. There have been laws against slavery in the US since 1865. No one can force you to work against your will. You do not even have to write a letter of resignation, but it is a courtesy.

They cannot refuse your letter of resignation. You do not have to work anywhere you don’t want to.

They may want a rewrite on your letter of resignation to ensure they will not be liable for unemployment insurance payments.

A lot depends on what your letter of resignation says. Are there issues stated in the letter that the company would rather resolve than have you quit because of what you stated? Does your letter intimate that you are going to, or have reason to, file a lawsuit against the company?

Had they already fired you? Were they about to?

@filmfann—- many employers want the letter of resignation as substantiation for rejecting an unemployment claim. The only issue is what the letter says:

for example: I am resigning because management has been trying to force me out for a year, or, I am resigning because the work environment has been hostile to me and a co-worker has been harassing me and asking me questions of a sexual nature….....

Since the resignation letter will go into the employee file, HR may want to have the substance of the letter changed. Especially if there is any other criticism of the company or any employee in the letter.

SRM

@srmorgan Yes, that’s an expansion on what I said…