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• Reputation: 1383 Q&A: 33 0 4 757 114 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 Dan Williams

  5 0 I am sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately Washington State (I am assuming you are Washington) is an "at will" employment state which basically means employment can be terminated at any time for any reason or no reason. That being said most companies that have a reasonably savvy HR Department will make sure they have a legitimate reason before terminating an employee. You should definitely contact your former employer to ask how they plan on positioning your termination to company's calling to verify your past employment. Most companies will only verify your dates of employment but some also will verify whether or not you are eligible for rehire. If you aren't comfortable discussing this with your supervisor call your former employer's HR Department. They should be able to give you this information and also give you an idea of why your employment was terminated. If you can't get a straight answer from your former employer don't sweat it. Your W-2s/pay stubs will confirm that you were actually employed. You don't need to explain your reason for leaving on your resume but you do need to explain this when you interview with prospective employers. The best thing to do is be honest. Explain that your position was ended with no notice and that you weren't given a clear reason. You can also mention that prior to your termination you had some health problems that caused you to miss some work. Keep your answers truthful, and concise. You want to address the situation but not make yourself seem defensive or unemployable. Assuming you have good references and a stable work history this one glitch shouldn't be a huge stumbling block to getting another job. Also make sure you apply for unemployment benefits. Hope this helps. Dan Williams answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 51 Q&A: 2 0 0 11 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 3 topics Un/Employment Jobs & Education Job Hunting Follow Following 0

  3 0 I'd echo what Dan wrote as well. What I'd add is that, although it would be helpful for you to know the reason, it's unlikely they will tell you (or they would have done that already). As unsatisfying as it is, you may have to move on without that information. I agree that you should call the HR person (assuming your company has one), to get the clarification on the things Dan mentioned, but I'd also suggest you get clarity on whether they will be disputing your unemployment claim (which may mean you won't get it). Better yet, ask the question in a way that assumes they won't be disputing it ("I'll be applying for unemployment. I'm assuming you are comfortable with that, correct?") Good luck to you! Maria Escobar-Bordyn answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 33 Q&A: 1 0 0 13 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 1 topic Un/Employment Follow Following 0

  1 0 If it is important for your professional growth and you are brave enough to ask your ex-boss I would ask. I believe that it is important to know how we are doing professionally. If we need to improve to be effective in our occupation then so be it. Be prepared to hear negative information that my hurt. Hopefully your ex-boss will tell you about your good qualities and skills as well as the ones that warranted your firing. If it is just the illness then there are other options for you: If you have a medical condition that's documented you may be able to fight for unemployment even though you were terminated. Contact the ESD (Employment Security Department) and see what your legal options. In the mean time give yourself some time to grieve if you can. careers answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 1812 Q&A: 22 0 42 1409 992 23 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 3

  1 0 Absolutely. You need to know why, and what they are telling new employers. O my captain answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 2 Q&A: 0 0 0 2 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 0 Under WAC 296-126-050, if you make a written request for a statement explaining the reasons for your discharge, your employer must provide one. If you were truly fired because you missed work due to migraines, that is disability discrimination. I strongly suggest you contact one of the many employment attorneys listed at www.welaweb.org. (Full disclosure: I am one of those attorneys. But I have too much work, so don't call me.) You likely have a worthwhile lawsuit against your former employer. The disability discrimination should also be brought up in your application for unemployment benefits. Rebecca answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report 7 comments by Kristin Bell, Rebecca, and MyrnaMinkoff… 0 2 Seems ridiculous as a suggestion of something to do first. Society is way too litigious! Kristin Bell commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Everyone thinks society is too litigious (and generally hates lawyers) until they experience some horrible injustice themselves. Strangely, no one seems to think twice about being rude and unkind to lawyers by criticizing the entire profession right to our faces. Thanks, it really makes my day to know you think so little of the work I have devoted my life to. Rebecca commented about 1 year ago | Report 2 0 Actually, I think Rebecca has a legitimate point. Discrimination laws exist for a reason. My mom was pushed out of a job at Microsoft many years ago when she became disabled. At the time, she was encouraged to leave because despite her stellar prior performance record, her performance at the time was really suffering; her manager suggested she "might be a better fit on another team" and then lost her job when her team was re-orged. I think she had a case, but she'll never pursue it (and as a result, forfeited both any money she would have gotten as a settlement AND long-term private disability benefits offered through the company). As it is now, she gets $1000 a month from Social Security and can't work. I think in some cases, people doing the firing are ignorant of the laws and feel justified in the termination because an employee's performance is suffering. That doens't make these terminations legal. Lawsuits, yes, are expensive, but consider what might have happened if, for example, Lily Ledbetter had kept her mouth shut? Discrimination lawsuits can pave the way towards better working terms for ALL people, and so sometimes they are the best recourse you have. MyrnaMinkoff commented about 1 year ago | Report 1 2 Dear Rebecca, Grow a backbone already. A) I didn't insult your life's work or say that all lawyers and everything that lawyers do is worthless. B) I didn't even say that I think so little of what you do for a living. C) I said it was ridiculous to suggest that someone SUE FIRST, before everything else and even before doing further investigation into the situation. D) And yes, our society is too litigious. That doesn't mean I think lawyers are at fault. Some may be, others not. Some people think they need to sue people for every little inconvenience. THAT is absurd. Fighting people in court for legitimate reasons is NOT absurd. and E) Maybe people are rude to lawyers, because lawyers are rude to them PLUS they charge a gazillion dollars an hour for the privilege of being rude to others. Not all, but some. It is pretty damn hard to feel sympathy for the "poor lawyers" and how they aren't appreciated when said lawyers are raking in the cash hand over fist. And really, who really gives a crap about lawyer jokes?!? If you are THAT sensitive about a stupid (because the lawyer jokes are always stupid) joke, obviously you have never been through real shit in your life! Kristin Bell commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Umm, yah, I don't really know why I'm being so bitchy. I'm probably just jealous, because lawyers are all rich and successful and I'm a looooozer!!! Seriously. Ignore me. Kristin Bell commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I grossed $36,000 last year, before business expenses or taxes. And I try my very best to be polite and kind to everyone, even complete strangers on the internet who are unkind to me. Rebecca commented about 1 year ago | Report 1 0 I apologize lawyer lady, for being so bitchy. As I said, I'm a loozer and just jealous and was possibly in a bad mood. I might have just been forced to watch FOX News before answering...really any amount of Fox news watching makes me grumpy and liable to flare into troll mode. Just ignore what I said. Kristin Bell commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 1345 Q&A: 14 1 26 527 77 14 Classifieds: 5 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 infernactual

  0 1 These days 2 years in a job isn't that bad... depending on your previous employment history. If you have a history of short stints then it may raise questions (depending on what kind of job you are doing). I would find out why you were let go. Frankly, it's your right and although your boss may be reluctant to tell you because he/she is a wimp or for legal reasons, they need to give you a reason. I don't think it's a question of being brave to ask, it's whether they are brave enough to answer. Let's assume for a second that they try and dodge the answer, the best thing for you to do is have a good answer in your back pocket (i.e. the one you'd like them to give) and say that you will use that as the reason. Get them to agree to that. (e.g. the job changed or the position was eliminated - ideally something that works for unemployment too). I personally disagree about being "open and honest" since you don't even know what that is at this point. Telling an employer you have health issues is not a good move (if they are small they will fear losing your time and an increase in their premiums and generally who want to hire someone who may get sick when you know that in advance). Assume you were let go for reasons which attach no blame to yourself or your employer. Try and get that agreed to as the reason with your employer and use that as your reason in interviews. infernactual answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by infernactual… 0 0 p.s. "at will" employment does not mean that the employer will not be worried about terminating you without any reason or notice. That kind of behavior comes at considerable risk and is generally contrary to any company policy when an HR dept. exists. Employers know that you can sue them without any reasons and a nuisance suit costs more than making you go away. So don't be defensive. Be assertive and tell them what you want. infernactual commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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