I've been with a company for 7.5 years; 4 as a supv with one dept. In March 2006, my entire dept was moved to a new division of the comp. The duties and job requirements changed but no other resourses were given. Mgmt didn't give any direction on how to add new duties to already full schedule. I have maintained my work load and worked from home to get it all done. However, because of the change in culture, I have been disciplined for ineffective supervision and now told that if I do not give my 2 week notice, I will be fired. I was told that, if fired, job references would be told that I was not eligible for rehire. When first approached, I was told 30 day notice (but would not be required to work it), now I am being told 2 wks. My question is what happens if I turn in 30 day notice instead?

There is no possible way for us to guess what your employer will do. If you turn in a notice of any length your employer may accept it immediately, may change the length of your notice or may have you work the full notice out. It's up to them which they do.

Thank you. I guess my question is what recourse do I have? And what is the worst case scenario of what will happen?

I'm still not clear what you are looking for but I'll do my best.

Texas is an at-will state; that means you can quit at any time and for any reason, and your employer can fire you at any time and for any reason that does not violate the law. Nothing you have posted suggests that any laws will be violated if you are terminated. So if you are looking for legal recourse, you have none. Your only recourse would be to file for unemployment benefits and look for another job.

The worst case scenario, based on the facts you have provided, is that you will be fired.

I do understand that part.
I know that I am not being clear on what I am asking and that may be because I am not real sure myself. I actually still like the company and wish that they had given me another opportunity in another area but they have said that because of the path they took to let me go, they could not do that.
I guess, I want to know what is the best path to take. I know that no one can make the decision for me but what is the smartest choice to make - Give notice or be fired?

We can't tell you that. There is no one right answer to that question.

I know that but what are the pros and cons of each? I am pretty sure that I will leave you alone after this. I am sorry for being such a pain.

Becca, you are asking unanswerable questions. What is a pro for you might be a con for someone else and vice versa. Nor can we see into the future to see what issues might arise. The answers to your questions are not black and white. It's all situation specific; on an admittedly vague, one paragraph post, how can you possibly expect us to be able to determine what your best path is?

You're intelligent enough to know what the possibilities are as well as we do. In fact, since you know your employer and we don't, you're in a better position than we are to know what the likelihoods are. We don't know what your needs are. We don't know what your employer will do with regards to references. We don't know what your state will do with reference to unemployment. We don't know what prospective employers will think about either choice.

There are limits to what a message board can do and this is beyond them. No one but you can figure this one out.

You are right and I guess I was hoping for some clarity on the separating the black and white from the gray. I am currently recovering from some minor surgery and my thoughts are not as clear as I would hope. I am the only one who knows for sure what is best for me and my children so thank you for reminding me of that. I know what I must do to make my decision. Again, thank you. :)