Welcome! This is mainly a legal question and cannot be answered without your location (country and state if applicable) as laws vary greatly across the world. It may also be better to ask at law.stackexhange.com. Your best bet here is probably to A) have a local labor lawyer review your contract and employee handbook and B) negotiate with the company. They are looking at a potentially high attrition rate, so maybe someone can see reason there.

My office is in San Antonio TX.

@keshlam can they change it for some employees but not for others. One of the people that moved - moved to Florida in June 2022 and didn't tell anyone until we were told that we would soon be coming back in office. It was at that time she made management aware of her move and she was approved (same time I was 03/2022) that she could be telecommute. They are not revoking hers.

Expanded to answer. Welcome to Stack Exchange, and alas, welcome to the realities of employment.

@TexasMama0616 The employee that moved to Florida was lucky, they could have easily been fired for not mentioning the move. Employers need to know which state their employees are conducting their work in so that they can comply with the labor laws of that state. This is why some companies will not let their employees work remotely from certain states.

And being in San Antonio means that there are plenty of other companies around that you can apply for a telecommuting job with - especially up the road in Austin. If your company is faced with either letting you continue to telecommute or go elsewhere, they might reconsider.

My question is: Is there a legally binding employment contract? My gut tells me the answer is no. If there is a legally binding employment contract that lays out the terms and conditions of your employment, and you believe this would be a breach of that contract then you may have legal recourse. If not then, yes, they can change your employment terms as they so wish.

When the question is "Can my employer do this?" the answer 9 times out of 10 is: "Yes, they can."

A lot of the answers are assuming you are an at-will employee. Although employees in TX are at-will by default, AFAIK it is allowed to have an employement contract. Are you an at-will employee?

@Theodore, I think everyone is assuming "at-will", because in most US states a non-at-will contract is unusual. Employees with a binding contract are usually either management, experts in their field, or union members and people in these groups know they have a binding contract. Since the question didn't mention an explicit contract, it's reasonable to assume "at-will" status.

@TexasMama0616 accept the change so you don't lose your job (and paycheck) but immediately start looking for another job. Doing a 3-hour commute even twice a week will wear you (and your car) down, it'll hit you with considerable expenses and it'll ruin your efficiency at work. The company clearly values the building more than its employees.

After they get people to come back in they might find the building is still only 25% full.

legal questions should be asked at law.stackexchane.com. They are going to say yes they can do this. However, you may be entitled to something more, like gas and mileage. That being said, something doesnt add up. Why are they asking YOU and YOU alone to come in? This sounds like there is some ulterior motive going on.

@xxbbcc If they accept the change and then later quit, that will likely be considered them voluntarily leaving the job. If they simply refuse to come in and wait to be fired, then it's involuntary termination of employment, which may be relevant for things like unemployment insurance or severance.

@Acccumulation I am suggesting voluntarily leaving the job but on the OP's terms. If they don't accept the change, they're out of the job immediately (no paycheck during job search). Texas unemployment is not much and not for long - if the OP can find a new job while still working, it's better than waiting to be fired. (Getting fired is considered 'termination for cause' and there's no unemployment, anyway.) Severance? Unless OP is an executive, the likelihood of severance is minimal but only OP knows their contract.

"my immediate VP signed and approved (and it's show in my payroll online for work) that I was changed to full time telecommute" This is not a "contract". It means simply nothing. There is no involvement with "contracts" here.

@xxbbcc Termination for cause requires cause. Simply being "fired" is not cause.

@Acccumulation In Texas, cause can be made up as needed. The employee doesn't have any protection and going to court is expensive and there's no guarantee that the employee would win, unless they have absolutely clear evidence of the employer's wrongdoing. It's not impossible but highly unlikely.

This is where unions help. If your employer doesn't listen to what is important to you but only to help the VP save face, then there might be better places to work