[samdapatriotsfan]

I am a technical support engineer with over 11 years of experience and, surprise, my director called me in yesterday to tell me that my position is being moved to India. This is not the first time this has happened to me but hopefully it will be the last. They offered me a small severance if I sign a disclosure saying that I will not sue them...for any reason.

This has piqued my interest. Why would I have to sign something saying I will not sue? What are they worried about? I have never been asked to sign anything like this before. I kind of think it may have something to do with the fact that I am the only black man in the company. But I hate playing the race card so I have to believe that is not it. However I am failing to see any other reasons for asking me to sign such a document.

I have until the beginning of February to sign or reject the offer.

Any ideas/advice on what they may be getting at or why they would ask me to sign this?

[William Walters]

Great.........yet another toll free customer service number where I can't understand a motha-fukkin thing they are saying to me!

Tough break pal. Can't offer up any good advice..........never been down that road.

[dom75]

I would reject the offer. I have been laidoff twice by the same company and will soon be laidoff again in a month or two. It is my understanding that if you take the severance pay then you can not get unemployment benefits. Look into it deeper as I am not completely sure.

[EmpireMaker]

consult a lawyer
clearly they weren't thinking about you when they decided to move your job to India
do what's best for you

[Deuce]

Unemployment, sit back, relax. Find a gig paying under the table. If you can't beat em', join em'.

[griz]

consult a labor professional on this.

[Iced]

A lot of companies offer severances as long as you sign a disclosure not to sue, it's relatively standard.

Companies can get sued for firing someone because of age, gender, race, filing a claim for workers' comp benefits, taking a leave under the FMLA, etc.

Outsourcing, though, is a valid reason to let someone go, and you can't sue them for that.

You can probably find a lawyer who would represent you if you want to sue them for racial discrimination or some BS like that, but I'd recommend just taking the severance. Like I said before, the disclosure is standard protocol, it's not like the company is giving you a disclosure because you're a special snowflake.

Take the severance and start looking for another job, good luck.

[darkhat]

It is very common for companies to have you do this. They just are covering their ass because people can obviously sue for a billion reasons at any given time. My company makes us sign things like this constantly. Oh you showed up with a new pair of shoes? Sign this saying you won't sue us if you trip on the way to your computer.

[playersonly69]

You most DEFINITELY get unemployment even if you get severence pay.

[samdapatriotsfan]

A lot of companies offer severances as long as you sign a disclosure not to sue, it's relatively standard.

Companies can get sued for firing someone because of age, gender, race, filing a claim for workers' comp benefits, taking a leave under the FMLA, etc.

Outsourcing, though, is a valid reason to let someone go, and you can't sue them for that.

You can probably find a lawyer who would represent you if you want to sue them for racial discrimination or some BS like that, but I'd recommend just taking the severance. Like I said before, the disclosure is standard protocol, it's not like the company is giving you a disclosure because you're a special snowflake.

Take the severance and start looking for another job, good luck.

I don't think I want to deal with the hassle of suing them, especially if this is pretty standard. Thanks for the info.

[samdapatriotsfan]

Great.........yet another toll free customer service number where I can't understand a motha-fukkin thing they are saying to me!

Tough break pal. Can't offer up any good advice..........never been down that road.

[RubberKettle]

Go down to the local unemployment office and talk to someone about your options.

[mathdotcom]

take advantage of book promo offers

they are best in late august though so next time try to get canned later in the year

[jjgold]

I would play the race card Son, fuk them

I bet your a hard worker too

Shake them down for more

[senseionline]

and government keep telling us job is booming wtf

[samdapatriotsfan]

Thanks for info on unemployment, it has been a long time since I have had to use it. I am already applying for jobs and I hope I won't even have to use it.

take advantage of book promo offers

they are best in late august though so next time try to get canned later in the year

Thanks Math, I will try to keep that in mind for next time.

[BroDog73]

Unemployment, sit back, relax. Find a gig paying under the table. If you can't beat em', join em'.

This is exactly what is wrong with our country!

Sorry man, situation sucks! Good luck in finding a new job!

[FuzzyDunlop]

Fairly standard cover their ass policy, unfortunate (possibly illegal) that your severance is tied to it. Are you in New England? If so, PM me and I'll take your resume, my company is growing and I know of a few other people that hire quite regularly in MA & NH.

[iFrat]

Take that race card straight to the bank. I wouldn't sue, but you could get them to bump that severance package up some. Also you cant get full unemployment if you take it, at least not in TN. Most of the time its a better deal than unemployment anyways. Think the max in TN is only 280 bucks wk before taxes.

[samdapatriotsfan]

Fairly standard cover their ass policy, unfortunate (possibly illegal) that your severance is tied to it. Are you in New England? If so, PM me and I'll take your resume, my company is growing and I know of a few other people that hire quite regularly in MA & NH.

Thanks Fuzzy, I appreciate the offer but I am in California. Silicon Valley to be exact.

[The Oddsbreaker]

I would reject the offer. I have been laidoff twice by the same company and will soon be laidoff again in a month or two. It is my understanding that if you take the severance pay then you can not get unemployment benefits. Look into it deeper as I am not completely sure.

You can get both severance and unemployment in MA and NH, my neck of the woods. Not sure about Cali...

[jjgold]

Fairly standard cover their ass policy, unfortunate (possibly illegal) that your severance is tied to it. Are you in New England? If so, PM me and I'll take your resume, my company is growing and I know of a few other people that hire quite regularly in MA & NH.

Hey you mother fukker

How about me??

I have no fukkin job man and can do fukkin anything

Sammy DAPPER call me

[RyanLeafOfBets]

Sorry to hear about that... Unemployment pay sucks, but better than nothing. I didn't get a severance when I got laid off a couple years ago, but even if you can't get unemployment if you accept a severance pay, the severance pay is probably better off than unemployment (assuming you can get a job in 3-6 months)

[Ninersnut]

You should of said cool, I'll move to India. Is there relocating expenses?

[dj_destroyer]

Unemployment, sit back, relax. Find a gig paying under the table. If you can't beat em', join em'.

This... it's the fukking dream and you don't feel like a total troll because you've paid into it all your life.

[TR88]

Hey you mother fukker

How about me??

I have no fukkin job man and can do fukkin anything

Sammy DAPPER call me

[itchypickle]

Maybe sit back and reflect on all of the other skills you could have learned with your off time during 11 years of chatting on the phone

Good luck on another job hunt though. Take this as a lesson ...never stop learning shitt....never know when you might need a fall back

[samdapatriotsfan]

Thanks itchy, I am looking into taking a couple of Unix courses to broaden my skill base.

[d2bets]

Consult a lawyer. Maybe have the lawyer send a letter demanding more severance/better terms. Also check and see if there is any non-compete clause in there.

[Sam Odom]

Tell'em

3x their offer then you'll sign - otherwise say "I will contact an attorney"

[bachngocduong]

I would reject the offer. I have been laidoff twice by the same company and will soon be laidoff again in a month or two. It is my understanding that if you take the severance pay then you can not get unemployment benefits. Look into it deeper as I am not completely sure.

WRONG
I take the severance pay and still get unemployment benefits

[ttwarrior1]

file for unemployment and use that for awhile and then go online and put in applications to similar jobs

[samdapatriotsfan]

Thanks for the info boys. I think I am going to contact an attorney just to see what my options are.

[MB]

I got laid off too and thought about suing, but didn't want to go through the hassle. I had a friend who sued, and they had a PI and a spy infiltrate his situation so they can get dirt on him. They came out with all his info in court. He won after 2 years, but he said it wasn't worth it.

[Sam Odom]

Thanks for the info boys. I think I am going to contact an attorney just to see what my options are.

Bluff them 1st...

Tell'em 3x their offer then you'll sign - otherwise say "I will contact an attorney"

Settle for 2x or 1.5x