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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?
Last edited by jewelsnba; 04-07-2016 at 09:23 PM..
Hell, yes, get an attorney. Labor attorneys are definitely helpful and worth the money, in my opinion. And they only take a percentage of what they get for you, normally - on contingency. So, no money out of pocket up front.
I'm sorry about what happened to you-it can be a HORRIBLE experience. While I do some work in HR, I am not familiar with New York employment laws. However, if you are over the age of 40, Federal Law does allow you 21 days to review any severance agreement. Even after signing such an agreement, you do have a 7 day rescission period.
I would STRONGLY advise you to seek legal counsel and have an Employment Law Attorney review the agreement, the reason for the termination, and whether or not you may have a case for Wrongful Termination. The cost of a consultation will be well worth it in this case as any decisions that are made at this stage are critical. Good luck to you.
We don't have any idea why you were fired ... An initial consultation is probably going to be free, so see an atty if you want to. The phone book should have a list of who specializes in labor law.
Lawyers cost 200 an hour or more hourly. You do the math to figure out if that is worth it. I personally would recommend moving on and finding other work if you do not have documentation to back up your claim of being fired wrongly. Chances of winning are small for you if the company is larger and you are just one person going against them. It's not an easy or cheap task.
Depending on the reason you were terminated, bringing an attorney to negotiate a severance is most likely going to kill any severance. If you want an attorney to consult with, that's fine, but you can end up causing more damage if you start dragging an attorney into the picture. Also, TN isn't known for being exactly employee friendly so keep that in the back of your head.
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.
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