My friend is a customer service rep who is ready to retire. Her company is talking about layoffs with 13+ weeks of severance, but when she asked (anonymously) if they were accepting volunteers, they said no. In case she’s not one of the ones told to clean out her desk, what are the ways she could get terminated while preserving her ability to claim unemployment (which would equal the 13 weeks of severance)?
UPDATE: She took my advice and saw her doctor. He agreed that she’s experiencing a job-related stress injury, set her up with a Disability claim, and referred her for psychiatric counseling.
Assuming this is in the US, be sure of your state’s unemployment laws. A lot of states say you are ineligible for unemployment if you are fired for cause, like attendance issues or failure to perform work duties.
It’s important to note that, barring something egregious, single instances don’t meet the with cause definition.
There has to be documented history that the issue was raised with you and addressed (verbal warnings, write ups etc.)
That depends on the state, OP’s friend should check before trying anything.
No, it doesn’t. A single occurrence of being late, or the first instance of being talked to about job performance does not meet the requirement of cause to deny you unemployment benefits.
An employer has to demonstrate repeated occurrences with documentation to be able to justify denying unemployment. Without that they can contest your claim but as soon as you appeal it they will be overruled unless they can show a repeated pattern with corrective action documentation.
This varies by location. I’ve been through it on both sides in a few states, and when working with an employment lawyer one of the most crucial things he said was to make sure the filing was in the beneficial state.
Also worth noting that most companies prefer to treat any given firing as “without cause” because stating a reason is usually a net-loss in terms of legal exposure.
Exceptions to the rule include, but are not limited to:
How does one tell if they’re on the road to a with-cause termination? Simple: documentation. If you’re suddenly being put under a microscope it might indicate that a premeditated f-bomb is hiding around the corner.
Exactly! Documentation is the best indicator, usually escalating from verbal, to written and then to final. A PIP, performance improvement plan, is another good indicator you’re on the block.