Taking Control of the Rest of Your Life

Getting Fired: What to Do If You're Fired, Downsized, Laid Off, Restructured, Discharged, Terminated, or Forced to Resign
by Steven Mitchell

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In Chapters 2 through 5, you will learn how to recognize when you are fired illegally. This is the first step on the road to understanding when you have been exploited and collecting what is due. Chapters 6 through 9 stress the correct negotiating strategies to use to maximize severance and other termination benefits. You will learn the right questions to ask and points to make and have clarified at the termination or exit session to increase what you can obtain. Samples of actual letter agreements are included in Chapter 9 to illustrate how you should confirm the deal in writing after it is accepted. You can use these letters as models and tailor them to your own situation.

You will also learn strategies to help you structure a settlement to achieve maximum tax savings. And even if you are not able to negotiate more money in a settlement, structuring the settlement tax-wise can put additional funds in your pocket (see Chapter 9). For example, the amount of any damages received for personal injuries or sickness may be excluded from gross income. Thus, a former employee who develops a physical injury, such as a bleeding ulcer, because of wrongful termination, may be eligible to receive a settlement (or a portion of it) on a tax-free basis.

You will even learn how employment lawyers can structure novel settlements if the need arises. For example, it was reported that a Florida executive, fired after working only six months of his yearlong contract, received a unique settlement. Instead of money, he agreed to accept forty thousand tickets to an animal petting farm, valued at $520,000!

Additionally, you will learn what to look out for when requested to sign a release or settlement agreement prepared by your employer.

Although it is unlikely that you will succeed in getting your job back after a firing, you can discover (in Chapters 8 and 9) how to get a better severance package without hiring a lawyer. You will also learn the steps to take when a satisfactory settlement is not achieved through informal means. If you are victimized and are unable to obtain benefits from your ex-employer and cannot afford a lawyer, you will learn how to obtain assistance through various federal, state, and local agencies. In addition, you will be advised of ways to collect evidence and strengthen a claim before you retain a lawyer.

Chapter 10 will help you learn how to resign from a job properly and gain unemployment benefits after a firing. In Chapters 11 and 12, you will become familiar with various post-termination problems that are frequently encountered. These include protecting your good name and reputation when the employer gives you a poor reference and learning how to stop former employers from enforcing covenants not to compete and other restrictive barriers to future employment.

Chapter 14 gives you valuable information on finding the right lawyer and working with him or her to achieve your goals.

All this information will help you take financial control and seize the opportunity to pick up the pieces of a shattered career. I sometimes remind depressed clients of a personal problem I had to overcome that was far more serious than the sudden loss of a good job. My problem was a life-threatening illness that I had to deal with to survive. Going through that gave me special insights when facing major obstacles, overcoming them, and moving forward with a positive attitude.

Thus, despite all the negative and pessimistic publicity about firings and downsizing, the rules of the game have favorably changed for fired employees in many instances. Keep your chin up and plan ahead. Since there is no use crying over spilled milk, don't get down, get even. The following pages will show you how.

© 1998 by Steven Mitchell Sack

About the Author

Steven Mitchell Sack is the author of Getting Fired: What to Do if You're Fired, Downsized, Laid Off, Restructured, Discharged, Terminated, or Forced to Resign.