I just found out I will be laid off
 

I had a meeting with the general manager of the company that I work for and I have been informed that my last day will be may 30th as of this year. My branch is getting the axe and will be relocating to 65 miles west of boston to merge into another branch to make it one vast branch. I've also been informed that from now on to may 30th, the workload will be H E L L since the company is growing. During the meeting, I got an offer of 4000 dollars bonus check, a cobra severance package that includes temporary full healthcare and an eligibility for unemployment payment as long as I stay until may 30th. While all of this sounds frickin sweet, I'm having doubts about the big bonus check. I'm having suspicions that I am, as well as my co-workers, are being royally screwed for number of reasons. After signing a contract agreement, I asked for a copy of the contract and I was refused. The general manager didn't offer anybody a position at the new branch. I've never been fired nor laid off from a job in the past and I worked for this company for 8 years. Just wondering if anyone else has any expereince of being royally screwed by their company in the past?

I thought you have a right to any contract you sign, especially when you are owed things from the agreement.

Thats right, but i thought it was also mandatory for consignees to obtain a copy of the contract so we wouldn't get royally screwed. for all i know, they could throw these contracts in a flaming pit and say it never existed.

Exactly. Get a lawyer or lawyerish sounding person to force them to give you and all of your coworkers a copy of them.

i'll call for you. i can be super mean.

It's true. She's a mommy.

Your last day is my birthday :)

It is against the law to not be given a copy upon request. Do what you will with that info.

What kind of severance package are you getting? Typically it's 1 week for every year of service. Cobra benefits are generally standard fare (at least that's the way it was when I was laid off) so no big whoop there. Plus, I'd think you're entitled to unemployment regardless, since you will be laid off. As for getting royally screwed, Geggy, only you can answer that one:

1. Company is growing
2. Branch is closing
3. You're not being offered another job

Draw your own conclusions. At least, I'd ask again to see a copy of that contract.

see if you can get Spiritwise to lick my taint....

You should have received a copy of the contract when you were signing it. There's supposed to be one copy for you and one copy for them. Either way, you're entitled to see your contract.

all i know and care is that i'm getting a temproray full healthcare coverage for at least 6 months and i could extend it to longer period of time only if i have a good reason ie. poor health, over 50 y/o. i didnt ask for any more details but i think i should and will. this is good for me to have healthcare because i plan to take a whole month of june off and go nuts on my mountain bike which i wouldnt normally do if i didnt have healthcare ha.

I think it should be easier for me now to ask for a copy of the contract because the general manager reads i-mockery.com through my work computer and this thread is probably freaking him out :) if things dont pan out, then glowbelly can be my lawyer :)

Man, them not giving you a copy and refusing is serious business. That's not just missing something, that's just flat out refusal and totally sue-able. Goddamn, I would be pissed if I were you.

I got laid off after 3 years at my last job, 3 years of building a brand new account, being the customer service manager, working on 2 accounts when my regular one was stable and another new one needed help.............i got laid off before people who had been there only a few months, because i had the highest hourly salary. so, i started interviewing and accepted a job (where i am now) starting the Monday after my last day at my old job.

So, a week before my layoff date the office manager calls me into her office -- i think i'm going to get fired (so that they wouldn't have to pay me my unused vacation and sick time, which was part of the severance package) -- but instead, she asks me if i would consider staying. I asked her if they would be giving a pay increase in return, and she said no. so, i said buh-bye.

that last paycheck was super sweet :) but those fuckers deserved what they got -- bankrupt with no clients after they mishandled account after account.

I got screwed over by my last boss when after 4 months of working there, he all of a sudden put me all alone, in charge of a daycamp for thirty children. Seeming as children suck, I quit. Dirty bastard.....

Try to look on the bright side, at least your getting laid....anywho are you union? If so I would get knocking on the stuarts door.

no union :(

looks like i'm going have to wait another week to ask for a copy of the contract...the GM is a huge patriots fan.

Hey, at least now you can make more conspiracy theory threads...........which actually might be a bad thing.....

What you should do is:

1) Get a lawyer and some legal advice on not giving you a contract.
2) Pretty much stop working very hard. Since you're out the door, why bust your ass?

Seriously, the fact that they're downsizing their business and not including you is a sign that they're expecting you to keep working your hardest to make their business run and then drop you like a bad habit. You already know when you're going to be let go. The only difference is if you're going to work as hard for them as you were or if you're just going to ride out the next three and a half months looking for another job. Fuck 'em. In this world, you look out for yourself. And if a business is stupid enough to expect you to bust your ass for them when they're pushing you towards the door, don't bother. Spend most of your days getting another job for after your June vacation.

I'm not the kind who would go through all the legal troubles, it's too much of a hassle. like my other co-workers who will also be laid off suggested, let it ride out and see what happens, i'm probably just being paranoid (shut the fuck up drunk girl). but it is a complex situation, if i ask him again and he says no, i could face termination if i present my arguement that its against the law if he withholds the contracts from me. but then that is what lawyers are for. read beginning of the paragraph again.

way ahead of you.

i'd tell you what my plans are for the summer but i cant because it would jeopardize national security. :rolleyes

Then my only other advice is just starting doing weird things at work like taking home a few parts of the office computers to see if you can build your own, and on your final day take a huge dump and put it in an abandoned drawer that's close to a heat source.

Oh, and wear Hawaiian shirts and refer to everybody as 'my baby' or 'supercunt.'

It works. :)

at least they gave you warning. i lost my job last month. walked in to work, was told to go to a meeting, and they told all of us "hey everybody! today is your last day! enjoy not having a job!" i think they did that to make sure nobody would show up the next day with a gun...

anyways, my servrance is allmost used up, so i think im gonna just go back to pizza driving....

You can do more than steal JUST computer parts! Take all the office supplies you can get your hands on, and not just from your own office. If you're walking in a corridor and see an empty office, no co-workers in site, then just let a stapler quietly slip in to your pocket. Well, that might be a bit conspicious, but pencils, pens, paper, it's all good. AND it's free. Seriously, it'll be awesome. And if you're caught, just shrug. What are they gonna do, FIRE YOU!?:lol

good luck getting a home you filthy homosexual!

Are you talking to me, PUNK!?

And if so: What does being a kleptomanic ass have to do with my ability to find a home?