I Became One of the November 2008 Job Loss Statistics
Posted: Wednesday, January 07, 2009
by Lisa Shepard
On the monday before Thanksgiving, I walked into work like I normally do, said my "hello's" to
the other girls I work with, exchanged some stories and dove into my work. An hour and a half later, I was asked to come back to the conference room by one of the managerial staff. At that very second, I knew-I had that gut feeling that I would not be walking back into the office the next morning.
"Lisa, we received lawsuit papers from someone that you are associated with and due to our "Conflict of Interest" policy, you are terminated as of today", the HR personnel said.
I joined "this" small company in May 2008. I just made it over the 6 months mark and was then terminated. I had so many dreams and envisions I had for this company. I wanted to do something and be somebody. It was flushed down the toilet in 6 months.
What I don't understand is if I was terminated for Conflict of Interest, why wasn't the other people that work there also terminated for the same? In fact, the same managerial person who took me into the conference room has a conflict of interest and everyone that worked there knew of it.
I have two choices: contact and hire an attorney or look the other way and continue on with my life. I haven't made a decision yet.
I like many others are "searching" for a replacement job. It's been almost two months now and I have been on a few interviews. Has anyone else noticed-when speaking with a possible new employer, they ask what you were making and low ball you just because they know you need a job? The job search itself turns into a JOB. It's the same thing over and over again on career/job search sites. I find the "get rich quick schemes", the "scams", the "commission only" jobs, "start your own business for $1", and then the occasional real job. Finding the real jobs are like finding the needle in the hay stack. To anyone else in the same predicament-good luck and don't give up, keep weeding through just as I do every day.
Statistics are numbers. I know, soon, I will be a statistic in the working/career side, not just the unemployment side.
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)Hi Lisa,I'm sure sorry that you became unemployed, especially now with the economy as low as it is. I was terminated once for no reason except the company was cutting back. It is a horrific feeling. I have one word of caution for you though. Be careful about taking them to court, there are two minuses to it. One is you would probably be very uncomfortable working with them if they had to rehire you. Secondly, if they won out on it, it might just make it much more difficult for your next job interview. Now, that is a word of caution, not intended as advise. Rather, I advise you to make up your own mind. Good luck.Hi Joel,This is why I haven't acted yet. I have some people telling me if I wait too long then I can't do anything about it. I've found this to be true at times. For instance, sexual harrassment by your employer. I didn't act on this either as I was going through a divorce. So, he got a way with it. The other thing that was against me that he was a small employer with less than 5 employees. In fact, I was the only true employee. So, the state couldn't even do anything.After this last incident-it made me think. Why should an employer keep getting away with things like this? At this point, I am trying to secure a job first. Once the job is secured, then I may think about pursuing as I certianly don't need to make things worse for myself.I've had plenty dirty under-handed things happen to me in my work life and my personal life. I can't just keep turning the other cheek.Thank you for your input.
Lisa, I'm curious about something and perhaps it's none of my business. However, were you already aware that the lawsuit was being brought against the company by the other party? Were you closer to this person than were your co-workers? Can you think of any other reason why they would have singled you out?By the way, I'll add a third caution to the two that Joel already provided. You can already see (and feel) how a lawsuit brought by one person might inadvertently affect another, who might have nothing to do with it. Keep this in mind when proceeding your own lawsuit.Hi Terry,I only new about the lawsuit because the company told me that the lawsuit was present. I had no knowledge about it prior to the company telling me. Then once the papers were delivered, I was terminated. Again, I didn't know about papers being delivered till they told me. I wouldn't of had any knowledge of the lawsuit if they would of never told me. The person with the lawsuit is my fiance. Another reason they singled me out-yes. They recorded phone conversations (unlawful) that involved me and two other people from the same company (claims). I actually have an apology email from the President of the company addressing myself and the two other people involved. They crossed the line. This months before my termination. As far as I know, the other two people still have their job. I don't believe I would go back to work for them. Yes, I have thought about the other two people involved, but they had mentioned about bringing a suit against the company well before I was terminated. Thank you for your input.
Lisa I would followup with your state agencies to see if you may have a suit against them. You must be able to substantiate you were singeled out and present proof either witnesses who will say so or tangible evidence. In Florida they don't even have to give you why justy so long. Nice state. In my opinion it is, the darkness state for sure. Thanks for sharing.
hi lisa,sorry about that. my son is going into the airforce monday, for the job opportunitie, that's pretty sad when you have to join the military when there are many wars going on, just to get a good paying job, unless you have a particlar skill, or are a doctor, lawyer, therapist, etc.i hope you find something soon.thanks for sharing, and i hope you continue writng,welcome to searchwarp,best regards,sue thom
Hi Lisa,Sorry to hear about your job. I think you received some good advice already. I think I'm with Robert and at least look into this. If you do have a case they may decide to settle "out of court" and give you a settlement or some severance.All the best, Val
HI Lisa, What a difficult situation. I will be praying you find employement soon. Thanks for joining us here at Searchwarp. As you can see, this a great place to vent, get encouragement and some great advice. I love how you ended this story on a positive note. BLessings, Teresa
Hate to hear that you lost your job. Job security went out the window years ago. It seem that companies can treat employees any way they want to now days.Good luck with your job search and don't let that get you down. I know it can very frustrating and down right depressing at times.Kathy
Very good article! It's hard to be optimistic when you are out of work and can't find a real "job".I commend you for even wanting to write about your experiences with the job market. It use to be, if you did your job like you are supposed to, you had a job for life....now days you are expendable.Good luck to you and hang in there!
Lisa,WOW. That truly has affected many...sorry for your loss. But like you stated: "...I will be a statistic in the working/career side, not just the unemployment side..." that's the spirit to have. And I'm sure you'll be there soon!Stay Blessed
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