I just got laid off

[snowgirl]

This is no surprise in many ways. Our company is not doing well financially. And I am not too upset. Although, nothing like telling a very pg woman this before giving birth. I am getting a severance pay, not much but at least it is something. And I will still get short term disability. The stinker is I have 104 hours of sick time accrued that they will not pay me for. I have been saving that up since I started there 5 years ago. I was going to use this time during maternity leave. Grrr....

I said, "Aren't I protected under FMLA(which I have been on for 3 weeks now)". They said since the position is being eliminated I am not protected. Doesn't sound right to me, but not sure it is worth hiring a lawyer to fight it. If anyone knows a lawyer and could answer that for me that would be grand.

We will be fine financially as DH has been doing some consulting work on the side. If I needed/wanted to go back to work, at least there is no rush.

So, it looks like I will be a SAHM after all. And I am pretty excited about that. More than likely, I was not going back to work anyway.

Julie

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

As long as your ok with it. But your right. Heck of a time for your company to drop the hammer. SHESSH!

[BookishVonLiberal]

What a load of crap. They should cash out your sick leave hours. :

[coyotemist]

I'm sorry! That's awful!

[bronxmom]

That sucks! After your 6 weeks of disability is up, don't forget to file for unemployment. Technically, you're supposed to be looking for work, but you shouldn't have trouble getting it and I would feel totally entitled to it. That'll give you 6 months of 50% pay, which is at least some cushion.

[slinginhipmama]

Originally Posted by BookishVonLiberal

What a load of crap. They should cash out your sick leave hours. :

: So sorry that they are being jerks!

[nerdymom]

Wow that stinks! I'd fight 'em on the sick leave. I'd fight for atleast half. It just seems like complete BS that they won't pay you for those. It's shifty if you ask me.

[gypsymomma4]

please if you can take the time to look into your legal rights. depending on the size of the company, the regulations they have to follow are different, but for alot of companies, they have to pay you for the sick time accrued. It might be worth a call to your states labor department, or legal aid, to get your questions answered.


best of luck to you,

[OkiMom]

What a terrible time for them to drop this on you!! They should at least pay you for your sick time..

[Katielady]

Yeah, they may legally owe you for your sick time. You earned it; it's part of your compensation.

Anyway, sorry you got shafted, but it sounds like you're cool with being a SAHM anyway, so that's good. I love SAHMing!

[snowgirl]

In my employee handbook, it says that sick time will not be paid out upon termination. But, I am still unclear how they can do this to me while on FMLA. Isn't FMLA there to protect me? I feel like my rights have been violated. I have a name of a lawyer that I will call tomorrow to see what she thinks. I feel like the only way I can get that sick time is if they have broken some law around FMLA. The crappy thing is, I am somewhat close to giving birth(5cm, almost completely effaced) and my energy is on this baby, not on fighting my company.

I will look into unemployment too. I live in VT, but company was based in NH. So, I think I have to file it under NH.

[titania8]

im with the others on the sick pay. that seems awfully shady to me.

[Ellien C]

So sorry about your layoff. I think whether or not they have to pay out your accrued vacation or sick leave varies by state. And yes - it sucks. It's generally risky to eliminate the position of someone on FMLA because it LOOKS like you are eliminating the employee but its technically not illegal.

[snowgirl]

Originally Posted by Ellien C

So sorry about your layoff. I think whether or not they have to pay out your accrued vacation or sick leave varies by state. And yes - it sucks. It's generally risky to eliminate the position of someone on FMLA because it LOOKS like you are eliminating the employee but its technically not illegal.

Just doing a little research and it looks like you are right. This is what I found, "In addition to denying reinstatement in certain circumstances to "key" employees, employers are not required to continue FMLA benefits or reinstate employees who would have been laid off or otherwise had their employment terminated had they continued to work during the FMLA leave period as, for example, due to a general layoff."
There were about 18 other people that were laid off as well.

[hannybanany]

Oh wow, that totally stinks. Should be interesting to find out what the lawyer has to say about the sick leave.

[OkiMom]

For unemployment I believe you need to file in the state you live in. When I started the paperworl to get out of the military they told me I could file whereever I moved too (I was stationed in California but DH was awaiting orders). Im not sure if it was different because I was in the military or not. You could call your local unemployment office and see if they have a preference

[louloubean]

good riddance to a dumb company snowgirl!

i'd call the dept of labor for the FMLA clarification.

and enjoy SAHM for as long as you can! i sure do love it! :

[Bella Catalina]

Of all the times! I am sorry, snowgirl. Although you were likely not to go back, it still sucks to have that decision made for you. You're smart to have your energy focused on your baby, but I also think you should find out about your sick pay.

[mochimama]

Just to offer a
Hope things get resolved soon!

[BundleFishMama]

That does totally suck the way it happened, but it's cool that you're glad you get to be a SAHM now!