Severance package received more.

[princess barbara]

Hubby being let go from software company where he has worked for over 20 years. New management doesn't like him and despite over 20 years of excellent annual reviews and promotions and awards and raises, he's being terminated. After meeting with human resources, he is being offered a piss poor exit package- granted there is nothing in his employment contract about what an employee who is terminated should receive. Do we have any recourse? Should he try to counter offer? Lawyer? It's a scary time for our family. And others that were terminated recently with less seniority got better packages.

 

[princess barbara]

Sorry for typo in thread title

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP, Sorry to hear this, and right during the holidays! Did he see this coming? My oldest DS, who was a department head (software dept for a local bank), was offered a very nice severance package IF he stayed on for another 5 months while a merger tookplace. He has a family to support so he wasn’t planning on waiting until the last minute to find another job. One and a half months before he would have gotten his severance package, he was offered another position and the newemployer wanted him to start immediately! DS told them he felt he needed to give his current employer a 2week notice. He knew it would be short of the 5month mark but he did it anyway. Of course, he did not receive any severance package! Thankfully, the new job pays him well and the only down side is the much further drive (Akron to Cleveland every day).

I am grateful for my union job!

Good luck to you and your family!

TC

 

[Nancyg56]

I am so sorry this is happening just prior to the holidays. I honestly do not think there is any recourse if your husband does not have a contract that stipulates a severance package. Personally, I would not suggest attempting to sue for a severance package because it can be a really small world when you are job hunting. Word can travel between companies, and reduce your husband's chances of getting hired.

 

[dish rag]

I can understand you feeling this way but for me I'm a keep moving forward type and would expend that energy on finding new employment or starting a business of my own. Probably the latter as I don't like to depend on others.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry for typo in thread title

There's a link to "thread tools" in the upper right corner if you want to correct the thread title.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I'm so sorry.

 

[Allison]

They don't have to offer anything so I don't see what recourse he would have.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I'm so sorry. This must be a terribly stressful time for you and your family. Unfortunately, unless you can prove that there was some kind of discrimination (race, age, etc.) when handing out severance packages, I don't think you have much recourse. And, as Nancyg56 said, it can be a very small world. You want him to be able to get good references, so unless you have an ironclad discrimination suit, I wouldn't go the legal route.

 

[DebbieB]

Is he going to apply for unemployment? I’d be concerned about it being declined if the company says he was terminated for cause.

 

[Colleen27]

It sucks, but I doubt you have any recourse. If the contract doesn't specify a severance package, anything he gets is basically a "favor" from the company. Unless you can make a strong case that the reason he's getting less is because of a protected factor (age, gender, race, etc) rather than just because of a personality conflict, I don't think there's any legal grounds to challenge their offer. He might want to try negotiating a better package, but given his issues with management even that would be tricky because they could decide not to offer anything at all, decline to be a positive reference, and/or challenge any unemployment claim he might make.

 

[princess barbara]

OP here- thank you all. It really seems to be a personality conflict. New management has been in place for almost a year and they all mostly came from the same outside company. So it appears that they are weeding out people to bring in their cronies from the other company. Hubby got wind of this from his manager about 3 months ago that they wanted to go in a different direction with his job and he has been jumping through hoops to prove that he is capable and could handle the new aspects of his job- which he can. Just sucks that after over 20 years, he gets treated like this. Appreciate everyone's input. Happy Thanksgivings!

 

[smokeyblue]

I'm so sorry, but this is how it goes much of the time when there is new management or owners. It's not right or fair and its so angering, but most employers can do whatever they want. My former employer did the same thing going through departments and getting rid of the most senior people in a "restructuring" effort. Then about 6 months later after they were not obligated by policy to bring someone back, they would post more jobs in the department and hire new. I'm from a right to work state so basically an employer can let go of anyone they want without cause; of course, unless they have blatantly and illegally discriminated against someone.

It's hard not to take it personally, but working in an awful, toxic environment where you are not valued is just painful. This new challenge may be a blessing in disguise. It's time to look forward. It's very hard to move on when you can't stop looking back.

 

[GoofyPrincess]

My opinion is to definitely consult a lawyer. I had a very similar thing happen to an old boss/friend of mine (personality conflicts - high performance) and she said that bringing the lawyer in made a HUGE difference in the amount of her severance package - hundreds of thousands of dollars more. While she didn't tell me the exact amount, she said that the offer from the company is definitely negotiable and that having a lawyer there made her feel much more secure when she signed off on the acceptance letter. She said that even if the offer hadn't changed, she would still recommend the lawyer. The retainer and fee is absolutely worth the peace of mind.

 

[tvguy]

I went through this 12 years ago. I consulted an attorney, which you may want to do.
His advice, move on. His reasons. Legal action is likely going to take about 10 years to final resolution. And taking legal action against an employer will be public information and may make you unemployable because a new employer doesn't want to take a chance on you. How are you going to live in the meantime.

 

[GoofyPrincess]

That's a good point - my old boss had the lawyer during the negotiation phase (before she left). Not sure how it would go or if it's worth it after everything is done.

 

[bcla]

It sucks, but I doubt you have any recourse. If the contract doesn't specify a severance package, anything he gets is basically a "favor" from the company. Unless you can make a strong case that the reason he's getting less is because of a protected factor (age, gender, race, etc) rather than just because of a personality conflict, I don't think there's any legal grounds to challenge their offer. He might want to try negotiating a better package, but given his issues with management even that would be tricky because they could decide not to offer anything at all, decline to be a positive reference, and/or challenge any unemployment claim he might make.

I don't know if "contract" is the necessarily the right word because not everyone is a contracted employee.

I've certainly had to sign an employment agreement, but it wasn't necessarily a "contract" (save the one time I did work in a contract position for a third party on the behalf of the worksite). The one contracted job I had enabled me to be paid hourly (when such positions would almost assuredly be salaried in California) and specified the earliest time that I could be relieved. I've almost always worked as an at-will employee, which is what the OP's husband's case sounds like. The employment agreement usually made reference to the employee handbook for things such as minimum severance pay, insurance, etc.

I don't get why any company would be offering less than for other employees who were let go. Any employment attorney would say that unless someone is being fired for gross violations of company policy they should treat all employees equally to avoid getting sued.

I've lost my job a few times over the years. The best case was during a mass layoff. They technically gave everyone a 60 day notice without an obligation to report to work unless specifically called in. They even reserved the right to call anyone back within the 60 days and cancel that individual layoff. They brought in career counselors and allowed use of company computers for the job search. And on top of the normal 1 week severance pay for every one year of service time we all got 3 extra weeks severance pay and 6 months of insurance. A few employees who didn't get laid off would have preferred to get that and move on. Our division was in the middle of a purchase agreement, and we also got retention bonuses (about 4 months salary) once the deal closed.

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

I think you should consult an attorney and he should not sign anything until he has done so. If your husband is a protected class (likely age-related) and there is evidence of bias in the packages being offered, it may be worth it. None of us on this site (and definitely not me) can tell you anything specific, but the lack of a contract is not likely enough if there is bias in how the company is treating those it terminates. Good luck!

 

[cinnaminny]

I have no advice, but sorry for the hard time you are having right now. Hopefully this will ultimately lead to a better place for your family. Good luck!

 

[SteveH]

I think you should consult an attorney and he should not sign anything until he has done so. If your husband is a protected class (likely age-related) and there is evidence of bias in the packages being offered, it may be worth it. None of us on this site (and definitely not me) can tell you anything specific, but the lack of a contract is not likely enough if there is bias in how the company is treating those it terminates. Good luck!

^^^This is spot on. He should get a complete copy of his personnel file from HR, he should also have a copy of the current Employee Handbook. Contact an employment law attorney and discuss this with the attorney. You probably have little recourse, but this way you will know for sure.