So angry... Can any lawyer comment on this job loss debacle?
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Anonymous
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My 24 year old cousin is working her first job at a publishing company, except...she was fired last month. I'm working overseas, and she only told me over the weekend over Facetime: she said she was in shock, and too ashamed and scared to tell me earlier. I have been a maternal/big sister figure to my cousin because her mom, my aunt, left the family ten years ago, and I feel so bad that she has been fretting about this alone. Anyway, apparently her supervisor told her that she was being let go, and my cousin was (understandably) upset. She says that she had great performance reviews, and that the only thing she can think of that has been going wrong is that she doesn't get along with a pair of older colleagues who she feels were bullying her, but that she had simply distanced herself from them and remained cool and polite; one of those women is very close with the supervisor (she had discussed the behavior of the two women with me multiple times over the past year, and it seemed so immature; I never imagined that it was this serious?). When my cousin asked her supervisor why she was being let go, he told her that "sometimes a face doesn't fit", and she asked him what this meant, and why her performance reviews were so good if things weren't working out. She said she was crying really hard and asked to go home early, and the supervisor agreed to this, but he told her that Friday would be her last day (I think it was a Monday when he told her about being let go, but not sure). The next day (not Friday), she was asked to a meeting again, and there was a lawyer there, as well as her supervisor: they wanted her to leave that day instead of the Friday that had been decided, and--I don't understand this part at all--they wanted her to sign a contract agreeing not to speak of the employer or situation, except to immediate family, or to take any kind of legal action, and also specifying that she would be paid for another two months even though she wasn't working there anymore. I had her scan the document and email it to me, and I've never heard of anything like this (but haven't been fired, so maybe this is standard in some industries?). My cousin asked her supervisor again why she was being let go and--this part enrages me--he told her, in front of the lawyer, "I don't want to talk about it", even though she kept pressing him. And she signed the contract and left.
The whole scenario seems so strange to me. She really is a very responsible young women. She has always been a responsible student and a hard worker, and has loved this job. I don't think she's lying to me about not knowing why she was fired: she was crying really hard, and saying that she wished she hadn't signed the contract, but she has student loans and was afraid of losing her paycheck and apartment, and really needed the two months salary (does this all affect her chance at unemployment?). And I don't know what to do. I'm thinking of flying her here for a week to relax and calm down, but I can't help but think that this whole situation sounds as if there is something wrong, and that she could/should do something about it. I wish she hadn't signed that document...but if they were going to present her with such a thing at all, why didn't they do it on the day they told her they were going to let her go? Isn't it standard to lay someone off and have them leave the same day you tell them? Any advice would be much appreciated. |
Anonymous
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How long had she worked there?
Yes, it's standard to ask somone to sign taht document and then they get severance pay. They can choose not to sign it, but then no pay. Also it's standard to have the person leav ethe day they're fired, otherwise tehre could be sabotage. |
Anonymous
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Not a lawyer, but that document is pretty common in my experience. In order to get severance you need to agree not to sue or badmouth the company.
I get that she's upset, but on the bright side she is young and will hopefully be abLe to find another job quickly. If she were my relative, I'd suggest she take the money and move on and learn what lessons she can from the experience. Some workplaces are crappy - sounds like it was a bad situation that she's better off not being in anymore. |
Anonymous
| You can fire someone for any reason or no reason with the exception of protected classes (age, race, gender discrimination, etc). It seems like it was done in a messy way, but not in an illegal way. She's lucky she got severance and it's common to sign a contract that she will not sue, etc. in exchange for the severance. |
Anonymous
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I'm the OP. Thanks for the replies. Is it normal for the supervisor to refuse to tell her why she was fired? That just seems so weird to me.
I am 99% sure that she is being truthful, and that she has not inadvertently done something stupid; she's very responsible. I guess that 1% uncertainty is something I was focusing on when she was telling me that they refused to tell her why. I would think that something like this shouldn't be a surprise? |
Anonymous
This poster has it exactly. |
Anonymous
If you tell them why, then that opens it up for debate and lawsuits. How long had she been there? In many states, even a "protected class" can be fired in the first X months for no reason at all. |
Anonymous
Well, he did tell her. "When my cousin asked her supervisor why she was being let go, he told her that "sometimes a face doesn't fit", " She just wants to know more specifics, and wants to know if it was about the other employees. They aren't going to tell her that. Telling her it's a bad fit is as much as they will say, and that is ok. |
Anonymous
2 years. It was her first real, after-college job. I think it is so strange that they told her and then had the lawyer/contract ready the next day. Why not wait until the lawyer was there with the contract to tell her? I wish she hadn't signed so that she could have had some kind of legal consultation herself first. |
Anonymous
A person who is a member of a protected class can be fired. The REASON for the firing cannot be the protected class status, no matter when it happens. |
Anonymous
As a lawyer, my guess is they told her, then they told their attorney. My clients love to do things first and ask advice later. Keeps me in business. |
Anonymous
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Not an employment lawyer, but sounds pretty standard. Severance agreements aren't illegal (although if she was fired for an illegal reason and brings a case the agreement almost certainly won't protect the company). If she had no employment contract, she is probably an "at will" employee, so she can be fired for any reason (including if she didn't get along with certain colleagues), as long as it wasn't discriminatory. If she suspects she was fired for a discriminatory reason (sex, race, disability, etc) it might be worth talking to a lawyer, though that opens her up to being sued to get the severance pay back.
In the future, it may be a good idea to talk to a lawyer before you sign a severance agreement (or at least do some research yourself) to make sure there is nothing crazy in there, and also because you may be able to negotiate for more money if you have some leverage (e.g. if they want you to agree to a non-compete clause). However, if she was an entry-level employee it was probably pretty boilerplate, and probably not worth it to talk to a lawyer now. |
Anonymous
Legal consultation for what? She got fired. She didn't fit in so she was let go. No big secret there. I am just guessing here but when we fire someone they are gone immediately, escorted to the door. It sounds like her supervisor screwed up by telling her she was being fired but not having her leave immediately. Then they had to call the lawyer in to make sure it was done properly. It was a good move she signed. She should move on. |
Anonymous
True, But everyone is in a protected class, really. We all have a race and a gender.. However, if she’s a minority, the comment “the face doesn’t fit” would be fodder for concern. |
Anonymous
| Totally normal to be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and have that tied to severance pay. |