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Am I the only one who thinks it is odd that a therapist would recommend a patient see a lawyer?
No, it's not weird to me.
They are there to assist the client with any challenges in their life. My therapist always asks about what happened since we last met and we discuss it. I'm sure it came up for the OP and the therapist suggested that she see another professional.
I don't want to sue for wrongful termination. I just want my severance to more accurately reflect my salary. I was with the company for 8 years - 6.5 in NYC and 1.5 in TN. I'm getting 17 weeks of severance - 2 weeks for each year I worked. However when I moved to TN (my choice) I took about a 40% pay cut. So shouldn't 13 weeks of my severance pay be based on the higher salary? In the current agreement, all 17 weeks is based on my lowet TN salary. This is what I want to ask an attorney. Or do I just try to ask for it myself and let the chips fall where they may.
The cost of an attorney will be more than your recovery. It sounds like you are being given a very generous severance, since your company is not obligated to give you anything if you are terminated for cause. Additionally, you don't live in NY any longer, so the fact that your severance is based on your current salary seems reasonable.
Unless you can prove wrongful termination, you should just accept the severance package and move forward with your life. Good luck to you in your job search!
My therapist didn't come right out and recommend that I see a lawyer but our conversation kind of evolved to that suggestion. She had asked for details of my severance package and I told her and she was more concerned about me losing my medical benefits in a couple of months. I brought up the salary thing and she told me stories about people she knew that negotiated separation agreements and recommended I do the same. I expressed hesitation about bringing it up and she recommended calling a lawyer as an option. I haven't mentioned it in this thread yet but my HR rep, when giving me the severance agreement, told me that they weren't expecting me to sign it today but to take it home and read it and have someone look over it if I want. When I told my therapist that, she became even more gung ho that I needed to negotiate.
I never asked for special accommodations or allowances and didn't tell my employer details of what I was going through. Maybe a mistake on my part but I feel embarrassed about having a mood disorder - even bringing it up on an anonymous Internet forum feels strange. At one point during a conversation I had with my boss after he told me my performance was improving I mentioned that I had been having health issues but they were improving. That was it. There was a noticeable change in his expression and I'm sure it came up in their discussions to terminate me because the HR rep told me they were making my last day May 1 (even though my last day in the office was yesterday) because they wanted me to qualify for an additional month of medical coverage.
I have two acquaintance that are lawyers and emailed them for recs on employment lawyers and it turns out one of them does a little employment law and he told me to call him Monday. Hopefully he will give me 5 minutes of free legal advice and be able to tell me if this is worh pursuing further or not.
I agree with the others who suggest that you seek legal counsel because things are complicated. Even if it was painful for your supervisors to dismiss you, the company is looking out for its own best interests; and that is to be expected.
Even though you like your supervisors, never asked for special accommodations, and appreciate the fact that they are offering a severance, you have to act like Jewlsnba, INC. and look out for your own best interests; and that is to be expected.
A person cannot get fired and then claim a disability. There are ADA protections and accommodations the OP could have requested well BEFORE there was a legitimate performance issue.
This
The employee has to have an ADA-recognized disability.
The employer had to notice the disability
The employee has to ask for an accommodation for the disability
The employer has to fail to make an accommodation for the disability
The OP wrote that they never disclosed this issue to their employer other than a vague "medical problem". I suppose you could try to argue that the vague reference to a medical problem was a disclosure.
My last severance package was being paid for the remainder of the day. Be grateful you were offered anything. If you are able to find a new job in less than 17 weeks you are coming out ahead.
I got fired today and my therapist suggested I hire a lawyer to help me negotiate my separation agreement. I'm getting 2 weeks severance for every year I worked there, medical until the end of this month and 2 months of employer subsidized Cobra after that. I worked in NYC for the majority of my time at the company and had a higher salary. However my severance was based entirely on my current, lower salary. I'm also on some medication that I won't be able to afford after my severance runs out so I'd like to negotiate a couple more months of medical coverage. Is it worth hiring an employment lawyer? How do I even find one? How much would something like this cost? Should I just try to negotiate on my own and let the chips fall where they may?
Count your blessing or good luck or whatever you want to call it. I wouldn't fight it with a lawyer. Maybe ask if part of the severance could reflect your time in NY, otherwise realize that you asked for the transfer. You currently live in an area that has a much lowe COL than NY.
Some general advice to anyone who has issues arising from employment termination and a severance package offer.
1. The offer you have gotten will undoubtedly require you to give something in return. (Usually it requires at least a release of any and all claims against the employer).
2. Whether the offer is fair depends on the value of what you are giving in return for the severance pay. The value of what your are giving depends on ....what you are giving. For example, if the primary thing you are giving is a release of your claims, the value depends on the strength of those claims in terms of how much exposure the employer faces if you do not give the employer the release. Sometimes, however, the offer will include additional terms such as non-compete and confidentiality agreements. These also can have value for which you should be getting compensation.
3. Most employees feel much better knowing whether the offer is fair for them.
4. Inevitably, other legal questions arise in connection with employment termination beyond simply the value of the severance package. For example, whether and when you can apply for unemployment benefits, and how prior employment benefits will be affected such as health insurance, profit sharing plans, 401(k) accounts, stock options, and many other possible benefits.
5. A severance package typically includes many more terms and conditions in addition to the amount that will be paid to the employee.
6. Given the complexity of the severance agreement and the issues an employee faces after being fired, an experienced employment lawyer is uniquely qualified to answer the questions the employee has and trained to identify issues the employee does not realize may exist.
7. Employment law and employment termination issues are sufficiently complicated that lawyers who devote considerable portions of their practice to this area of law are likely to be much more knowledgeable than the lawyers who do " a bit of" employment law -- or less. As a result, experienced employment lawyers also are likely to charge more for their time than a general practice lawyer or a lawyer who focuses on other areas of law such as simple wills and trusts, simple business contracts, simple divorces, and minor criminal defense matters -- these are the bread and butter areas of law for many lawyers. Some of these areas of law will give a lawyer some knowledge relevant to an employment termination, but the experienced employment lawyer will know much more.
8. Experienced employment lawyers know that sometimes an employee should take what is offered, and sometimes the employee should try to get the employer to sweeten the deal. Experienced lawyers also know that sometimes the employee should conduct the negotiation directly with the employer and sometimes the lawyer should do it on the employee's behalf. The experienced employment lawyer will advise the employee how to best approach the situation given the employee's particular circumstances.
9. In most states, bar associations exist which have as their members only lawyers who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing employees. The national organization for these lawyers is the National Employment Lawyers Association. Most states have affiliated chapters. These associations have membership directories which can be searched by employees to locate local employment lawyers. Here is a link to the Tennessee Employment Lawyers Association.
10. In most cases, an experienced employment lawyer can review a severance package offer and spend time thoroughly counseling with a client in about 90 minutes or less. The time is valuable to the employee and the lawyer. It's worth paying for it. While many employment lawyers will offer to negotiate severance packages on a contingent fee basis, the vast majority of employees will come out ahead by paying the lawyer on an hourly basis. Of course, many employees who have just lost their job and cannot risk paying hourly fees to the lawyer have no choice but to hire the lawyer on a contingent fee basis, and if you are such an employee, discuss in detail with your experienced employment lawyer what the likely differences will be in the fees you will have to pay depending on whether you are paying a percentage or an hourly fee.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, the times when an employee will not benefit from counseling with and paying an experienced employment lawyer to review a severance package are nearly non-existent. There is a good reason why the law requires employers to include in the severance package a written instruction to seek an attorney's advice before signing the release. That lawyer will protect you regardless of whether it's a one-time consultation in which you get advised (or otherwise make the decision) to sign the package offered to you or the first step toward negotiation and even litigation over your employment termination.
This is why the OP may have a case for disability or discrimination (for denial of a request for a reasonable accommodation). And why he/she needs a lawyer's opinion. If she asked for time off, because of her SAD disorder, and said that's why she needed time off, then she/he did ask for one. My guess, is she did and isn't aware of it, but that her employer is well aware of it, and trying to get her to agree to that severance agreement.
.
In normal situations, time off (outside of what is provided to other employees) is not a reasonable accommodation. Accommodations are something provided to assist/ aid and allow you to perform your job. You are not performing your job if you are not working.
If the OP cannot work because of a medical issue (and this may have been the case), then FMLA protections could have helped.
Some general advice to anyone who has issues arising from employment termination and a severance package offer.
1. The offer you have gotten will undoubtedly require you to give something in return. (Usually it requires at least a release of any and all claims against the employer).
2. Whether the offer is fair depends on the value of what you are giving in return for the severance pay. The value of what your are giving depends on ....what you are giving. For example, if the primary thing you are giving is a release of your claims, the value depends on the strength of those claims in terms of how much exposure the employer faces if you do not give the employer the release. Sometimes, however, the offer will include additional terms such as non-compete and confidentiality agreements. These also can have value for which you should be getting compensation.
3. Most employees feel much better knowing whether the offer is fair for them.
4. Inevitably, other legal questions arise in connection with employment termination beyond simply the value of the severance package. For example, whether and when you can apply for unemployment benefits, and how prior employment benefits will be affected such as health insurance, profit sharing plans, 401(k) accounts, stock options, and many other possible benefits.
5. A severance package typically includes many more terms and conditions in addition to the amount that will be paid to the employee.
6. Given the complexity of the severance agreement and the issues an employee faces after being fired, an experienced employment lawyer is uniquely qualified to answer the questions the employee has and trained to identify issues the employee does not realize may exist.
7. Employment law and employment termination issues are sufficiently complicated that lawyers who devote considerable portions of their practice to this area of law are likely to be much more knowledgeable than the lawyers who do " a bit of" employment law -- or less. As a result, experienced employment lawyers also are likely to charge more for their time than a general practice lawyer or a lawyer who focuses on other areas of law such as simple wills and trusts, simple business contracts, simple divorces, and minor criminal defense matters -- these are the bread and butter areas of law for many lawyers. Some of these areas of law will give a lawyer some knowledge relevant to an employment termination, but the experienced employment lawyer will know much more.
8. Experienced employment lawyers know that sometimes an employee should take what is offered, and sometimes the employee should try to get the employer to sweeten the deal. Experienced lawyers also know that sometimes the employee should conduct the negotiation directly with the employer and sometimes the lawyer should do it on the employee's behalf. The experienced employment lawyer will advise the employee how to best approach the situation given the employee's particular circumstances.
9. In most states, bar associations exist which have as their members only lawyers who devote a substantial portion of their practice to representing employees. The national organization for these lawyers is the National Employment Lawyers Association. Most states have affiliated chapters. These associations have membership directories which can be searched by employees to locate local employment lawyers. Here is a link to the Tennessee Employment Lawyers Association.
10. In most cases, an experienced employment lawyer can review a severance package offer and spend time thoroughly counseling with a client in about 90 minutes or less. The time is valuable to the employee and the lawyer. It's worth paying for it. While many employment lawyers will offer to negotiate severance packages on a contingent fee basis, the vast majority of employees will come out ahead by paying the lawyer on an hourly basis. Of course, many employees who have just lost their job and cannot risk paying hourly fees to the lawyer have no choice but to hire the lawyer on a contingent fee basis, and if you are such an employee, discuss in detail with your experienced employment lawyer what the likely differences will be in the fees you will have to pay depending on whether you are paying a percentage or an hourly fee.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, the times when an employee will not benefit from counseling with and paying an experienced employment lawyer to review a severance package are nearly non-existent. There is a good reason why the law requires employers to include in the severance package a written instruction to seek an attorney's advice before signing the release. That lawyer will protect you regardless of whether it's a one-time consultation in which you get advised (or otherwise make the decision) to sign the package offered to you or the first step toward negotiation and even litigation over your employment termination.
In the layoffs my employer law firm had over the years, they would present a severance package to the employees (minimum $, but more than the required 2 weeks). If the employee didn't sign it (it contained a release), then the employee wouldn't get the severance. It was that simple. They weren't required to pay more than two weeks' severance. So whether you see an employment lawyer or not didn't matter.
A layoff is a layoff. Unless there's some reason an employee thinks he was included because of some discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, or disability, then there's nothing to sue over. If you're over 50 and laid off, but others in the layoff were also older, you can't claim discrimination. I live in an at-will state, also. An employer can fire you on the spot for anything at all, except the federally protected things I just listed.
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