The only good thing about getting laid off is 1) you can at least collect unemployment 2) It’s easier to get another job because you weren’t simply fired
Unemployment isn’t that easy to collect in a lot of states. My state’s unemployment system is essentially designed to dissuade people from collecting. Tons of red tape, rules, and conditions to wade through and if the stars are right you might start getting checks worth 2/3 the value of your original paycheck a month later.
A lay off is generally broad in scope. A department might get laid off.
Firings are usually with cause and individual. You are fired for showing up late every day. You’re laid off when they simply don’t need you anymore.
This varies from state to state across the US and probably only applies here, but if you’re fired with cause, you generally don’t get unemployment benefits. If you’re laid off you might get a severance on top of unemployment.
Particularly shitty companies will always fire as many people as they can prior to a lay off. A big part of HR’s job at these organizations is making sure they have a case to fire as many people as possible at any given time. If you’ve ever worked in any call center in the US, you’ve been subjected to this, knowingly or not. They’ll document a handful of even the slightest grievances and make sure they have two in the chamber at any given time for any given employee, so if it looks like they need to get rid of a lot of people in the near future they’ll start digging for a third infraction.
The specifics will vary by jurisdiction. The state I live in, you can collect unemployment if fired but it has to be determined that you were not fired for noncompliance with workplace policies or illegal actions. For example if you stole from the cash register and got caught and fired you would not be able to collect unemployment. But if you were fired for poor performance you can receive unemployment
I learned this after a recent workplace decided to make up performance reasons to fire me. The state opened an investigation to determine if unemployment benefits should be paid out, which involved asking both myself and the previous employer about the stated reasons for the discharge, if any written or verbal warnings were given, etc. Hilariously my old employer dropped the entire line of reasoning and just said “it didn’t work out” when the investigator for the state spoke with them. I also then learned that the maximum unemployment benefit in my state is only $1200/month which won’t cover most folks rents so that’s practically useless!
Depends on the state but basically they have to prove it was for cause. You being late nonstop and being fired? No UE. You getting fired for “no call no show” when you ha e the phone records to prove you called in and you have no disciplinary record? You’ll get UE.
I got “fired” once in my life right before a big round of layoffs for the above reason. This was in TX so my UE got denied right out of the gate but when I appealed the company didn’t even bother showing up.
It was a pretty slam dunk case of them reaching and pulling shit out of their ass so I won the appeal.
Always appeal, especially in republican states where they default to siding with the companies.
Nope. There are firings with cause that have nothing to do with legality and it turns out that’s most of them by far. You can legally tell customers to lick your balls and you will probably get fired for misconduct and then you won’t get benefits. What constitutes “misconduct” varies by state but none of them require you to break the law.
The best thing about getting laid off is still getting paid but not having to go to work.
Having responsibility that they don’t want you to abuse, and having a robust social net that requires employers to pay out an employee for a specified time (mine was 3 month) is amazing. (Go Belgium)
A full 3 months of vacation and plenty of time to look for other jobs.
The only good thing about getting laid off is 1) you can at least collect unemployment 2) It’s easier to get another job because you weren’t simply fired
Unemployment isn’t that easy to collect in a lot of states. My state’s unemployment system is essentially designed to dissuade people from collecting. Tons of red tape, rules, and conditions to wade through and if the stars are right you might start getting checks worth 2/3 the value of your original paycheck a month later.
What’s the difference between being laid off and being fired?
You het fired for being bad at work, coming in late, etc.
You get laid off for “we don’t wanna pay you anymore.”
A lay off is generally broad in scope. A department might get laid off.
Firings are usually with cause and individual. You are fired for showing up late every day. You’re laid off when they simply don’t need you anymore.
This varies from state to state across the US and probably only applies here, but if you’re fired with cause, you generally don’t get unemployment benefits. If you’re laid off you might get a severance on top of unemployment.
Particularly shitty companies will always fire as many people as they can prior to a lay off. A big part of HR’s job at these organizations is making sure they have a case to fire as many people as possible at any given time. If you’ve ever worked in any call center in the US, you’ve been subjected to this, knowingly or not. They’ll document a handful of even the slightest grievances and make sure they have two in the chamber at any given time for any given employee, so if it looks like they need to get rid of a lot of people in the near future they’ll start digging for a third infraction.
Lay offs aren’t related to your behaviour. Just that they cannot afford to keep you.
“they cannot afford to keep you.” Oh they almost certainly CAN. They just don’t want to.
You can’t collect unemployment if you get fired.
It depends. I was terminated under false pretenses, so I collected unemployment without any issues.
The specifics will vary by jurisdiction. The state I live in, you can collect unemployment if fired but it has to be determined that you were not fired for noncompliance with workplace policies or illegal actions. For example if you stole from the cash register and got caught and fired you would not be able to collect unemployment. But if you were fired for poor performance you can receive unemployment
I learned this after a recent workplace decided to make up performance reasons to fire me. The state opened an investigation to determine if unemployment benefits should be paid out, which involved asking both myself and the previous employer about the stated reasons for the discharge, if any written or verbal warnings were given, etc. Hilariously my old employer dropped the entire line of reasoning and just said “it didn’t work out” when the investigator for the state spoke with them. I also then learned that the maximum unemployment benefit in my state is only $1200/month which won’t cover most folks rents so that’s practically useless!
Goddamn that’s low. At first I read that as $1200/week, which would be the highest in the nation.
I also got termed for no reason but my state maxes out at $875 per week, low considering the cost of living here.
Yeah you can. You forfeit UI if you quit voluntarily. You’d only lose it if you got fired for doing something illegal, I think
Depends on the state but basically they have to prove it was for cause. You being late nonstop and being fired? No UE. You getting fired for “no call no show” when you ha e the phone records to prove you called in and you have no disciplinary record? You’ll get UE.
I got “fired” once in my life right before a big round of layoffs for the above reason. This was in TX so my UE got denied right out of the gate but when I appealed the company didn’t even bother showing up.
It was a pretty slam dunk case of them reaching and pulling shit out of their ass so I won the appeal.
Always appeal, especially in republican states where they default to siding with the companies.
Nope. There are firings with cause that have nothing to do with legality and it turns out that’s most of them by far. You can legally tell customers to lick your balls and you will probably get fired for misconduct and then you won’t get benefits. What constitutes “misconduct” varies by state but none of them require you to break the law.
Probably more protections in blue states I’m guessing
That’s my understanding too.
The best thing about getting laid off is still getting paid but not having to go to work.
Having responsibility that they don’t want you to abuse, and having a robust social net that requires employers to pay out an employee for a specified time (mine was 3 month) is amazing. (Go Belgium)
A full 3 months of vacation and plenty of time to look for other jobs.