Laid off 101

When a Layoff/Firing Constitutes Wrongful Termination

With so many people being laid off or fired as we publish this post, we thought an overview of an employees legal position on being laid-off or fired would be very helpful and timely.   The General Rule   In the United States, most employees are “at-will” employees, meaning that, absent an employment agreement that states otherwise, both the [...]

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Brief overview of your rights on being laid off – severance and benefits

This brief article is designed to give some background on the laws regarding termination, as well as certain rights/benefits to which you may avail yourself if you are terminated. Notice; Severance Under federal law, employment is generally considered to be “at will,” which means that employees may quit their jobs at any time, with or without reason [...]

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Fact Sheet: Your Employer’s Bankruptcy - How Will It Affect Your Employee Benefits?

This is a great fact sheet recently posted on the Department of Labor’s website. For a pdf version of this fact sheet, click here. The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), administers the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which governs retirement plans (including profit sharing and 401(k) plans) and welfare plans [...]

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Tara gets laid off from fancy law firm

It was Friday, August 15, 2008, 11:37am, 1 year and 331 days after I, fresh out of law school, started working at a corporate law firm in New York. I was called into the head partner’s office, knowing nothing more than (a) head partner was about to leave on his annual 2-week end-of-August vacation and [...]

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