Getting Fired advice - update page4

[Acklander]

My brother hires and fires for a large world wide company. He is the one the home company sends about the world to fire very high ranking executives. How it works for him and how it's done is this. He is sent to whatever city. Shows up to the office. Gets another high ranking official, tells him what is going on, his official is to witness but is told not to talk, at all, to say nothing. The both go in to meet the executive, he is given the news. The witness is told to leave the office. My brother has his severance check in hand. To get the check they are to sign papers stating that they will not sue the company. If they won't sign they don't receive the severance. They collect their belongings and are escorted out by by security. Every one has signed off. That's how it's done at his place.

Didn't they make a movie about him?

 

[disney1990]

Wrong. Most of the time, the person can collect unemployment if fired if he or she meets the conditions required by the state ie, they have enough days and hours on the job to be eligible and they're actively seeking work, etc. For a person that meets the conditions not to be eligible for unemployment, the company has to prove it was a firing for just cause as defined by the state.


No company in their right mind is going to cook up a flimsy reason for termination that isn't true and well documented on several occasions, spout that flimsy reason all over town, and then in court try to defend themselves with nothing other than, "Uh well uh we believed it to be true" when hit with an expensive lawsuit for defamation.



Ding Ding Ding.

Wow, I don't know what states people work in where you can be fired and still collect unemployment benefits. It does not work that way in Maryland 99% of the time. There is the rare occasion.

 

[clh2]

Didn't they make a movie about him?

Yes they did. Played by George Clooney, IIRC.

 

[MSUmom]

My brother hires and fires for a large world wide company. He is the one the home company sends about the world to fire very high ranking executives. How it works for him and how it's done is this. He is sent to whatever city. Shows up to the office. Gets another high ranking official, tells him what is going on, his official is to witness but is told not to talk, at all, to say nothing. The both go in to meet the executive, he is given the news. The witness is told to leave the office. My brother has his severance check in hand. To get the check they are to sign papers stating that they will not sue the company. If they won't sign they don't receive the severance. They collect their belongings and are escorted out by by security. Every one has signed off. That's how it's done at his place.

This is how my husband was "let-go". Only over half his department was let go the same way, the same day. My husband was one of the last to get pulled. He was beginning to think he was okay when they came and got him. It, of course, had nothing to do with his age 53 and he was 13 months away from being able to collect a full retirement.

 

[mnrose]

My brother hires and fires for a large world wide company. He is the one the home company sends about the world to fire very high ranking executives. How it works for him and how it's done is this. He is sent to whatever city. Shows up to the office. Gets another high ranking official, tells him what is going on, his official is to witness but is told not to talk, at all, to say nothing. The both go in to meet the executive, he is given the news. The witness is told to leave the office. My brother has his severance check in hand. To get the check they are to sign papers stating that they will not sue the company. If they won't sign they don't receive the severance. They collect their belongings and are escorted out by by security. Every one has signed off. That's how it's done at his place.

Wow. They make them sign a legal document without giving them the right to consult their own attorney? And if they won't sign then and there, they don't get it? I can flat out guarantee you that if any of those employees decided to contest that type of provision they would win in a heartbeat. No employer has the right to coerce a signature in that fashion. Signatures must be freely, and knowingly, given. Without the ability to consult an attorney, a signature cannot be knowing.

(And, in case you are wondering, I used to work as an employment attorney for a very large, world wide corporation...I've been consulted on more firings than I can remember...I know what I'm talking about.....I was also let go as part of the acquisition of that company by another...I had 60 days to read through my termination agreement...and to consult with whomever I chose...this was explicitly written into the agreement. In my experience, this is normal for executive terminations.).

 

[Art 1]

Wow. They make them sign a legal document without giving them the right to consult their own attorney? And if they won't sign then and there, they don't get it? I can flat out guarantee you that if any of those employees decided to contest that type of provision they would win in a heartbeat. No employer has the right to coerce a signature in that fashion. Signatures must be freely, and knowingly, given. Without the ability to consult an attorney, a signature cannot be knowing.

(And, in case you are wondering, I used to work as an employment attorney for a very large, world wide corporation...I've been consulted on more firings than I can remember...I know what I'm talking about.....I was also let go as part of the acquisition of that company by another...I had 60 days to read through my termination agreement...and to consult with whomever I chose...this was explicitly written into the agreement. In my experience, this is normal for executive terminations.).

Sounds odd to me too but that's how they do it.

 

[Arielle22]

Wow. They make them sign a legal document without giving them the right to consult their own attorney? And if they won't sign then and there, they don't get it? I can flat out guarantee you that if any of those employees decided to contest that type of provision they would win in a heartbeat. No employer has the right to coerce a signature in that fashion. Signatures must be freely, and knowingly, given. Without the ability to consult an attorney, a signature cannot be knowing.

(And, in case you are wondering, I used to work as an employment attorney for a very large, world wide corporation...I've been consulted on more firings than I can remember...I know what I'm talking about.....I was also let go as part of the acquisition of that company by another...I had 60 days to read through my termination agreement...and to consult with whomever I chose...this was explicitly written into the agreement. In my experience, this is normal for executive terminations.).

If the employee is over 40 there is a law requiring the employee be given 21 days to review the severance agreement and 7 days to rescind the agreement once it is signed.

I write severance agreements for my company (overseen by a labor lawyer) and we give 7 days to review for those under 40. 60 days is a long time for a severance agreement.

While I would never demand an immediate signature, unless the employee has some leverage to try and get a bigger severance or file a lawsuit, there is no reason not to sign.

 

[disney1990]

When I was laid off, they gave us the paperwork and 30 days to decide to sign (that we would not sue). Once the papers were returned signed, the severance payment was processed. You could take the paperwork to an attorney in that 30 days, but you receive no money until it is returned.

 

[MSUmom]

That was the case with my husband. He took the document to a lawyer and had it looked over. No guarantee when you sue and no severence if you don't sign.

 

[dmslush]

Wow. They make them sign a legal document without giving them the right to consult their own attorney? And if they won't sign then and there, they don't get it? I can flat out guarantee you that if any of those employees decided to contest that type of provision they would win in a heartbeat. No employer has the right to coerce a signature in that fashion. Signatures must be freely, and knowingly, given. Without the ability to consult an attorney, a signature cannot be knowing.

(And, in case you are wondering, I used to work as an employment attorney for a very large, world wide corporation...I've been consulted on more firings than I can remember...I know what I'm talking about.....I was also let go as part of the acquisition of that company by another...I had 60 days to read through my termination agreement...and to consult with whomever I chose...this was explicitly written into the agreement. In my experience, this is normal for executive terminations.).

I wish I had known you about 7 years ago. I (along with my coworker) was fired for being whistle blowers. We were made to actually sit and write out our own 'pink slip'! I did win the dispute for unemployment due to that, but still.. it was horrible!

 

[manning]

I wish I had known you about 7 years ago. I (along with my coworker) was fired for being whistle blowers. We were made to actually sit and write out our own 'pink slip'! I did win the dispute for unemployment due to that, but still.. it was horrible!

My response to them would have been "you actually think I'm going to help you fire me?"

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I suggest he polishes up his resumes and starts looking around for job openings.

Also, I think he should be happy if he got any severance at all. I doubt I would if I were fired.

 

[castleview]

This is why I refuse to sign off on any small infraction in an evaluation. It could be the most pointless thing, but managers today have to have something to complain about in evaluations just in case they need to let go of workers in the future. And I'm not letting the managers off the hook either. They need to grow a pair and actually manage.

 

[dmslush]

My response to them would have been "you actually think I'm going to help you fire me?"

It was actually scary. We worked in a domestic violence shelter and all of a sudden 9 board members and 4 attorneys showed up and showed us the door! You know that little sign that hangs in government buildings and non profits, the one that says is money is being used inappropriately, you can report it and it be confidential?? Take it from me, Don't call that number.

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts and advice. I thought I'd give an update, in case anyone wants to know what happened. DH didn't get fired, but the situation continued to get worse. He was contacted by a company he interviewed with a year ago and was hired a few weeks later. He is so happy to be leaving that bad situation and looking forward to starting his new job.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Well congratulations to him ! Things should certainly be less stressful for both of you.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Wow, I don't know what states people work in where you can be fired and still collect unemployment benefits. It does not work that way in Maryland 99% of the time. There is the rare occasion.

I've never had to claim in California, but in Texas (which is notoriously pro-employer), if your firing isn't a direct result from breaking a law (like theft) or repeatedly breaking the same company policy (like excessive tardiness) with the write-ups to prove the issue has been addressed, unemployment is usually approved.

Over the years, I've had three separate times I've had to file:
Instance One - I had to use one more sick day than the company had allotted, with a doctor's note. I refused to sign the termination papers (which made the supervisor furious) & filed the following day. UI was approved shortly after.

Instance Two - I was working at a bar where the owner wanted to shift the theme to a "breastaurant", so every Front of the House employee with the wrong type of uh...plumbing was fired in short order. The reason I was given was "it's just your time to go". After a couple interviews with someone from the agency (she'd mentioned she was dealing a couple other claims for that place & I could tell by her tone she was not happy with that restaurant), UI was approved. A year later the place went under - good riddance.

Instance Three - I was working for a family owned restaurant chain & they were systematically getting rid of all the managers who were making too much money (a lot of new faces with half the salary were showing up). When my turn came, they claimed that I was cheating my time, which was a complete fabrication. This was by far the toughest one. They fought my UI claim tooth & nail, taking it to the maximum rounds of arbitration. I mentioned that ATD would have records of when I punched in my individual alarm code, which proved my innocence. Mysteriously, they couldn't come up with any of the paperwork that they claimed refuted that, so UI was approved. They also got in trouble with the labor department because part of their closing procedure requires people to work off the clock.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts and advice. I thought I'd give an update, in case anyone wants to know what happened. DH didn't get fired, but the situation continued to get worse. He was contacted by a company he interviewed with a year ago and was hired a few weeks later. He is so happy to be leaving that bad situation and looking forward to starting his new job.

That's great news! There's no feeling quite a liberating as throwing off the shackles of a lousy work place for something much better.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts and advice. I thought I'd give an update, in case anyone wants to know what happened. DH didn't get fired, but the situation continued to get worse. He was contacted by a company he interviewed with a year ago and was hired a few weeks later. He is so happy to be leaving that bad situation and looking forward to starting his new job.

Great News! My husband was laid off one month ago. Two phone interviews so far...

 

[superme80]

Great news!