Know your rights
Every U.S. state differs in terms of the rights you have as an employee. But there are usually additional rights for layoffs if you are part of a protected class based on your age, sex, national origin, religion, or race, or if you have a disability.
Under the federal Older Workers Benefits Protections Act (OWBPA), employees are allowed 45 days to review a severance package before signing if at least two people above the age of 40 are being let go at the same time—if only one employee above the age of 40 is being let go, they are given 21 days to review. OWBPA also requires the employer to disclose in writing all of the other people in their age group being laid off in order to ascertain whether a discrimination case can be made.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act also requires certain large employers (those with 100 or more employees) to give 60 days written notice of mass layoffs (i.e., if the number of employees laid off makes up at least 33% of the employer’s active workforce).
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Workers are always allowed to consult with an attorney before signing a severance package, although that can be expensive—especially for someone who just lost their job.
Reed said a company should always offer “some severance or financial cushion,” no matter how long or short the person’s tenure is with an agency, even though it isn’t legally required.
Don’t be afraid to ask
Ask for things that can help you get another job, such as references or permission to keep your company-issued computer.
Reed, in fact, advises companies doing layoffs to be “creative” with what they offer in severance packages.
“Can the employee keep their computer?” she said. “How many of us have a personal laptop these days? Can they keep their work-from-home setup? All of these will make it easier for them to conduct their job search.”
Cuevas advises employees to request recommendation letters from their bosses or LinkedIn referrals. She said younger generations have been more open to asking for these recommendations in layoffs and they’re effective in landing that next job.
Cuevas noted that those recommendations will eliminate any doubts on the part of the next hiring manager about the nature of the person being let go because they’ll all be wondering: “Was it really layoffs or poor performance? Were you part of mass layoffs because of poor performance?”
Del Corral, who is still looking for a new job, said he would have appreciated when he was laid off getting references and referrals for other opportunities from his employers, a list of recruiters he could have used as resources and access to some online training courses such as Coursera.
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‘It isn’t OK’
Del Corral said direct managers should not be absent from the conversation. He said he’s experienced bosses letting “HR do the dirty work,” which he said is disrespectful.
Reed advises managers doing layoffs to be brief and not to apologize: “Huge pet peeve of mine. In our society when someone says, ‘I’m sorry,’ the other person is conditioned to respond with ‘that’s OK.’ Don’t make the person getting laid off say ‘it’s OK.’ It isn’t OK.”
“Have your paperwork printed and organized for each conversation,” she also advises managers. “Seems like a no-brainer but it is easy to get flustered and that is distracting and unsettling for the person being laid off. Practice the conversation—know what you’re going to say and stick to that.”
Take a deep breath
Del Corral said that people shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that they will lose their job when they receive word that their company is undergoing layoffs. “You may not be cut. I’ve been there, too,” he said.
But in the event you are cut, he said, “This is the nature of the beast. Nothing you can do about it. My advice is: take a deep breath and say to yourself, ‘Screw ‘em. Their loss.’ You will eventually land on your feet.”
