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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    2

    Default Termination Form Showed Wrong Designation, Possibly Deliberately

    Hello -

    I just became unemployed after I was abruptly notified by my California employer I was to be terminated (after 4 weeks of employment) for lack of communication and productivity/performance (which was actually not true, but difficult to prove). I was told that I was to be paid for 2 more weeks (which I did not have to work for) and that I was to have the support of the company in my future employment search. I was then let to finish with what I was working on until "some paperwork" be ready for me to sign.

    About 10-15 minutes later, I was presented with a termination form. The form had 2 sides, one on each sheet of paper. The area for me to fill out and sign as a California employee was on the 2nd page/sheet of paper. Thus, I did *not* notice that the 1st page showed "resignation with notice" as a reason for my termination!!! Please note my oversight was because I have never been terminated before in my 20 year employment history, I was under shock and stress at the time, and was guided by my employer as to where to sign (on the 2nd sheet of paper only, where the form fields for the employee were located). After I signed, I was given a copy of the form, which was pre-made (they didn't make a copy of the actual form I signed).

    Please note that the employer is a very sharp one and does not make errors like this.

    I noticed this 'error' right after I returned home (on my termination day) and looked over the paperwork. I then immediately notified my employer via email, kindly requesting an alternate form to sign with the correct termination designation.

    *IF* my employer does not respond, and/or is reluctant to cooperate, what can I do? Am I going to have a problem with Unemployment?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Termination Form Showed Wrong Designation, Possibly Deliberately

    You risk having unemployment denied, and having to appeal the denial. Do you have any documentation showing the actual claimed basis for termination?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Termination Form Showed Wrong Designation, Possibly Deliberately

    As an update, after several attempts to communicate with the company, I did receive a new form indicating that I was terminated for lack of performance. They told me that they couldn't really state it was a layoff because their HR contract company told them they wouldn't be able to hire anyone in my position for another year (don't know if that's true though - is it, or could it be??).

    On another note, per the documentation they gave me, my termination date is 2 weeks past my last actual day worked (both of those dates appear on the paper). They said they did that to help me look for something else while I appeared employed and pay me for 2 extra weeks at the same time. The document also mentions what wages I am owed yet not when I am to be paid (though I believe they mentioned I was to be paid at the end of that 2 week period). Is there a time by which they need to pay me? They also told me that regardless of what that document stated, I could still use them as a reference. While this sounds good on their part, does it conceal any problems for me, either for unemployment or anything else? Should I take any extra precautionary measures, esp. while this is still the 1st week of that 2 week period?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Termination Form Showed Wrong Designation, Possibly Deliberately

    they couldn't really state it was a layoff because their HR contract company told them they wouldn't be able to hire anyone in my position for another year (don't know if that's true though - is it, or could it be??).

    There is nothing in the law that says so. It's not impossible that it's covered under contract.

    However, unless there is a valid and supportable reason to believe that you would later be called back to work, which is not usually the case with performance issues, it isn't actually a layoff anyway. Though many employers use "layoff" to avoid having to use the dreaded word, fired, technically it is not a layoff unless at least the possibility of recall exists.

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