I'm Pissed!!!!!!

[sbnewsom]

So I got fired the other day. Apparently having iTunes on your work laptop is "defacing company property"! Its in the fine print of my hiring papers. Incredible! Anyone else ever heard of something so stupid?? No warning or anything. They called me out of a meeting at the customers site to tell me.

So now I'm looking for a job. Anyone out there need an electrical / validation engineer? I need to find something fast!

[Scutter01]

Sorry to hear that. I wonder if that was the real reason or merely an excuse, though.

[spasmo]

Oh, definitely sorry to hear that. :(

[sbnewsom]

I think it's an excuse. At least I hope so. I was totally shocked! I was the low guy on the totem pole and I was swamped with work. I think the older people there were getting tired of seeing me get all the work.

[rhino]

Yeah, it does sound like they were looking for an excuse to get rid of you.

Good luck finding something else! Hopefully you're more employable than I am (I was a mechanical and environmental engineer in a past life).

[Scutter01]

What are an Indiana company's obligations with regards to benefits if they fire you vs. laying you off? I think in some states, if they fire you, they don't have to pay unemployment benefits, but I don't know what the law is in Indiana.

[slow1911s]

If you're fired they have to pay unemployment benefits. If you leave on your own, they don't. I'm pretty sure that's how it works here.

[VN Vet]

I've been there my friend. I feel very sorry for you. Fired or laid off is the same thing, you are now unemployed. If you quit that may be a different story.

You'll have to wait a few weeks before you can get unemployment benifits. The State of Indiana used to have an office on North Shadeland Ave. just north of I-70. It is on the East side of the street if it is still there. I would go see them soon. When I needed help they were there to help me. I hope you have good people helping you as I did. My ordeal was in 2001.

You will be asked if you were warned before you were fired. No is the answer. Let your former employer prove there side but I doubt if they will contest you filling on their insurance. Hopefully they have insurance. You will eventually be paid back to day one of your firing (I think). When you get your benifits you will get a weekly sum based upon you current income. I think I received a check every two weeks. You can choose to have Federal Tax withheld or not.

There is a time limit on how long you can draw unemployment, however I don't remember how long that is.

Good Luck and may God Speed you on to a bigger and better job.

[Soundslikejosh]

As of February 2007, they issued debit cards. Each week (possibly every 2 weeks) they would deposit your next payment into the debit account. You could even have it set up so that a robot called your phone and told you of the deposit. I believe I was able to draw for approximately 14-15 weeks. If my memory serves me correctly, it is based on how much money you get each week and how much you would get total. So, I was informed that the total amount of benefit I could receive was "X" and that each week I would get "Y". Using that info you can determine how many weeks you will be receiving payments. For me, it wasn't a round number like 4 months. It was the number of weeks necessary to eat up all the money they would pay.

Also, when I had it, there was a time limit on the debit card. I stopped receiving payments but left roughly $80 on the debit card for a rainy day. When you are unemployed there is a lot of rain so its a smart idea to plan for more bad stuff to happen. Well, I left that $80 in the debit account and some time later, roughly 4-6 months, I went to use it. The card was declined, and when I called the automated number it said the card was empty. I know thats not true because some time prior to that I had called the automated number, retrieved the exact balance, and wrote it on the back of the card with a sharpie so I would know. I am certain I never used the remainder of the money.

Best of luck to you. Don't forget- you can have the state withhold taxes before you are paid, and then you are clear. Otherwise, don't forget to pay the taxes later in the year. Its bad to be unemployed, its bad to have back taxes, but its even worse to have both at the same time.

[haldir]

My company has a similar policy. No non-company software can be installed on our laptops and they make it clear you can be terminated for noncompliance.