I was laid off ... trying to figure out if it is worth calling a lawyer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
How would I find an employment lawyer to cconsult with?

If you have a lawyer whom you trust who you use or have used for something else, you can ask him or her for a few referrals.

[Anonymous]

Sales people always exaggerate.

[Anonymous]

I wish I had sued the hell out of the company that screwed me years ago. I would have won.

Does the company even know you were lying? Were you caught in the lie?

Talk to a damn good lawyer. Throw your company under the bus if you can.

Back in the day companies preferred settling cases, but don't know if that's still the norm.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like IBM. Read up on the massive law suit against them for these issues. There was some great reporting on this recently via the WSJ - worth paying for the article if you need to.

[Anonymous]

I used attorney Debra Katz a few years ago and successfully settled an EEOC complaint and would recommend her. She is in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds like IBM. Read up on the massive law suit against them for these issues. There was some great reporting on this recently via the WSJ - worth paying for the article if you need to.

The WSJ article probably came from this article. Most of the big media companies are now citing it: https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-american-workers/

[Anonymous]

I would look at you package very very carefully. You stated you got a nice layoff package. There is a 1000% chance that there is a provision that in accepting that nice layoff package that you were also waiving away your right to sue to them. Especially if they were generous, your lawsuit is probably is not going to go anywhere....

[Anonymous]

I was in a similar position, at age 58, two years from retirement. Top reviews and bonuses every year, and then....bam! .....lay-off. I was offered a nice severance package to not make a stink about it, along with 21 days to make up my mind. (I believe this 21-day period is mandated by law.) I used that time to consult a lawyer. He told me that I had a definite claim against the company and he would be glad to file, but warned me that the amount the company settles for, minus his cut, may end up being only slightly more than their severance offer. I decided the negative energy wasn't worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in a similar position, at age 58, two years from retirement. Top reviews and bonuses every year, and then....bam! .....lay-off. I was offered a nice severance package to not make a stink about it, along with 21 days to make up my mind. (I believe this 21-day period is mandated by law.) I used that time to consult a lawyer. He told me that I had a definite claim against the company and he would be glad to file, but warned me that the amount the company settles for, minus his cut, may end up being only slightly more than their severance offer. I decided the negative energy wasn't worth it.

P.S. By "make up my mind," I mean about whether I was willing to waive my right to sue in return for the severance package.

[Anonymous]

Op here. I have not signed off on the severance package. thanks for the insight and advice.

[Anonymous]

Op, I am sorry this is happening and also agree that you should consult a lawyer. I am sure people would like to hear an update when you have one, if you are comfortable giving one.

Do you and others have any advice on how family can support someone who is going through this? I ask because my dad was laid off in the fall after decades within his field. He is early 60s and unlikely to be hired, although he is very skilled and a very healthy – he would not have been retiring early.

Thankfully, he just came into a bit of money from family, so he is pretty OK financially, but I just feel terrible that after being a good hard worker and really loving his field, he was essentially just thrown out after two decades. It makes me so sad and I am just hoping to help him however I can. I try to be there for him but he does not ask for what he needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I am sorry this is happening and also agree that you should consult a lawyer. I am sure people would like to hear an update when you have one, if you are comfortable giving one.

Do you and others have any advice on how family can support someone who is going through this? I ask because my dad was laid off in the fall after decades within his field. He is early 60s and unlikely to be hired, although he is very skilled and a very healthy – he would not have been retiring early.

Thankfully, he just came into a bit of money from family, so he is pretty OK financially, but I just feel terrible that after being a good hard worker and really loving his field, he was essentially just thrown out after two decades. It makes me so sad and I am just hoping to help him however I can. I try to be there for him but he does not ask for what he needs.

This happened to my dad too a few years ago. At the last job he had they brought him on to migrate them over to this new accounting system which was a lot of work. After the migration was completed they canned him. Shitty to toss people aside like garbage. Apparently he had some sort of personal or work flash drive and instead of calling him and asking him to let them wipe it or make sure it didn't have company information on it they sent him a really nasty demand letter.

Fortunately they were financially secure and able to retire but it was a tough blow to the ego. My dad filled his time by putting his accounting skills to work by volunteering to be the treasurer for a charitable organization (maybe habitat for humanity)? They've made some new friends and taken some nice trips so mom and dad are now really enjoying retirement.

[Anonymous]

You should talk to an employment lawyer. I would like to know if you were replaced by a younger person. There’s a lot of good employment lawyers in DC.

[Anonymous]

I’d look for a firm with more than a few lawyers. Maybe ten or so. The smaller ones may need the work and it could influence their judgment. And the bigger regional firms may not be interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 55 and just received a nice layoff package from company where I have worked 14 years. I have suspected it was coming since last summer when out of the blue, an executive that I worked with asked for me to be removed from an account (I am in sales). I had just received a big raise, had overachieved my quota the past 2 years and also in 2017, always good ratings. But he was very pushy about wanting a change and I was removed and put on a terrible territory in 2018. After not selling a thing on 1st quarter and basically having to lie to show anything in the pipeline in 2nd quarter, I was called by manager and told I had 30 days to find new job in company (extremely unlikely as hiring manager has to go thru major hoops to hire a marked person for layoff.) Or I was employed until end of June and I get a small severance. Meanwhile since last fall I have been trying to find a new job out side of my company. I was very close for my dream job and devastating for me, they did not offer me the job after extensive hiring process.

I do feel I was targetted for layoff for my age more than anything else. I work at a high tech company that wants to appear younger. And I can see that most everyone who were laid off were over 50. Its systematic and everyone seems to know it.

Is it worth calling a lawyer or do big companies have HR that make sure they are not liable for employment issues? I am not sure what would be of interest to an employment lawyer - whining does not count for much!

This happened to me when i was in my late 40s. I got a severance package that was about 6 months salary and I thought I could walk into another job the next day. Bad idea. I should have sued. If you can prove that there is systemic bias against older people (based on patterns of firing in the past), I'd sue. However, note that most law firms are interested in settling. That's the easiest way for them to make money. As another posted pointed out, make sure you know what you want out of the process. For instance, if you want to walk away with 1 years worth of salary as separation, make sure you tell the lawyers that's your bottomline. They may not want to deal with you, which is fine. If all you will get is a few dollars more than what you are already getting anyway it's not worth it...