Our E-Newsletter (NL) and Q&A (QA) Library
A. Negotiation Pointers
"Master a trade and God will provide."
The Midrash (Jewish Book of Biblical Interpretation)
- NL 1: With Your Boss, It Pays (and Pays Big) to be Tactically “Polite” at Work
- NL 2: Locating Leverage with Your Boss
- NL 3: When Office-Negotiating, Put the “Power of Purpose” in Your Pocket
- NL 4: Knowing When It’s Time to Simply “Fold ‘Em”
- NL 5: When Negotiating at Work, “Words NOT for the Wise”
- NL 6: Appearing “High Maintenance” Can Hurt Your Career
- NL 7: Negotiating Employment with a “Private Equity” Firm – 7 Surprises to Expect
- NL 8: Kids are the Best Negotiators – Learn from Them.
- NL 9: Hey, It’s July – Time to Re-Assess Your Unique Human Capital
- NL 10: Overcoming Your Fear Of Negotiating At Work
- NL 11: Hiring, Promotion, Raises – The Three Decisive Factors
- NL 12: The Surprising Power of Simple Appreciation – A Negotiator’s Secret
- NL 13: Dealing with Deadlines in Workplace Negotiating – Focus on “The Four Flexible Features”
- NL 14: 10 Simple Phrases That Give You Leverage with Your Boss
- NL 15: For Discussions with Your Boss: Your SkloverWorkingWisdom™ CheckList
- NL 16: How to Respond to “Take It or Leave It” In Employment Negotiations
- NL 17: In Negotiating with Your Boss, What You Want/Need/Deserve Is Not Most Important
- NL 18: Seven Rules to Ensure Successful Negotiation Meetings
- NL 19: Five Negotiation Lessons From the Movie “The Social Network”
- NL 20: “‘Positional Leverage’ in Workplace Negotiating”
- NL 21: Five Simple Thoughts About Effective Workplace Negotiating
- QA 1: What, Exactly, is “Negotiating at Work?”
- QA 2: “Resign or Be Terminated. What should I do?”
- QA 3: “I work for a charity. Can I be forced to contribute to it?”
- QA 4: “In negotiating my severance, can I use as leverage the fact that I know how much different employees are paid?”
- QA 5: “How can I get a copy of a document I signed and gave to my former employer?”
- QA 6: “Is asking for a guarantee of an employer’s obligations – as mentioned in your Master Employment Checklist – realistic?”
- QA 7: “How can I make my employer open emails I send him complaining about Human Resources?”
- QA 8: “Will using an attorney to negotiate make things worse?”
- QA 9: “Can I reverse my company’s decision to outsource my work?”
- QA 10: “If a job offers a certain pay, can I negotiate that?”
- QA 11: “How can I make a request or complaint without seeming like a constant complainer?”
- QA 12: “Should a young professional who likes his job change jobs for 50% more pay?”
- QA 13: “Any thoughts about dealing with the fear of rejection regarding work?”
- QA 14: “I fear the consequences of filing a complaint; any suggestions?”
- QA 15: “Should I get extra compensation for extra services and extra success by my employer?”
- QA 16: “Should I respond in my “PIP Meeting” or after, in writing?”
- QA 17: “What if my former employer ignores my filed discrimination complaints?”
- QA 18: “Followed your PIP method. Didn’t work. What next?”
- QA 19: “How do I ask a new employer for an equity stake?”
- QA 20: “Work in New Jersey; employer in Massachusetts. Which state’s lawyers can help me?”
B. Job Offers, New Jobs and Promotions
"A bashful beggar has an empty purse."
Hungarian Proverb
- NL 1: Make Sure You are “Attired to be Hired”
- NL 2: Top 10 Worst Job-Change Expectations
- NL 3: Nervous About an Upcoming Job Interview? Just Focus on the “Three Interview Objectives”
- NL 4: Use Our “HR Interview Memo” To Prevent New-Job Problems
- NL 5: New Graduates Should Seek “The Three Ex’s”
- NL 6: Continuing Indemnity – A Key Objective for Corporate Officers
- NL 7: Your “Employment Values” – Why Take (or Stay in) This Job?
- NL 8: For a Raise or Promotion, Use “Triggers of Value.”
- NL 9: Job Offer Letters – What to Look For – What to Look Out For
- NL 10: In Offer Letters and Employment Contracts, Watch Carefully for an “Integration Clause”
- NL 11: Theft at Interviews: Seven Prudent Precautions
- NL 12: The Best-Ever “Internship-Wanted” Letter – Seven Thoughts to “Open the Door”
- NL 13: “What Salary Do You Seek?” The Four Smartest Responses
- QA 1: Negotiating a New Job: How Do I Begin?
- QA 2: New Job, New Industry, Leaving Friends: Is It Worth It?
- QA 3: Can An Overstated Resume Result in Firing?
- QA 4: “I Need to Transition to Another Employer. . . Can You Help?”
- QA 5: “I’m interviewing for a new job, and I’m three months pregnant. Do I have any obligation to tell my interviewers?”
- QA 6: Can an employer simply withdraw a job offer?
- QA 7: “How much should I ask for as a bonus for increased sales? How about asking for an ownership interest in the company?”
- QA 8: “Is it wise to resign because promotion was denied, and without a new job?”
- QA 9: “I’m seeking a promotion, without success. My boss says only HR can promote. What do I do?”
- QA 10: “I was promised a promotion, and given the higher-level duties, but have been denied the better title and pay. What do I do?”
- QA 11: “How can I get my employer to give me a promotion I have earned?”
- QA 12: “My job offer was withdrawn, after I quit my old job. What can I do?”
- QA 13: “When interviewing for a new job, if I am asked about my pending lawsuit against my former employer, what do I say?”
- QA 14: “Can an employer require employees to relocate for a promotion, and refuse to promote them if they don’t relocate?”
- QA 15: “How can I get my employer to honor the salary offer it made when I was hired?”
- QA 16: “Can a job offer be rescinded if my new employer finds out I was terminated from my previous employer?”
- QA 17: “How can I stop my resume from being used for unauthorized purposes?”
- QA 18: “Can an employer take back a job offer, even after I accepted it? Do I have any recourse?”
- QA 19: “If I accepted an offer of employment, and then a week later turned it down, can that company sue me or stop me from going to a different company?”
- QA 20: “How should I respond to a Job Offer being placed ‘on hold?’”
- QA 21: “Can my employer contact another company to find out if I have interviewed with them?”
- QA 22: “How can I ‘un-accept’ a promotion after I accepted it?”
- QA 23: “Any ideas on how to deal with a recruiter who seems to be sabotaging my job search?”
- QA 24: “What do I do after three weeks on the job, and I realize it is not the job for me?”
- QA 25: “If my offer letter states three different ways to pay me, which one is right?”
- QA 26: “How long should I wait to hear from an employer about a pending job offer?”
- QA 27: “I’ve been offered a promotion I’m not sure I want. What do I do?”
- QA 28: “How do I explain job loss after a personal tragedy made me lose focus?”
- QA 29: “Any ideas on how I can get a promotion, despite my relative youth?”
- QA 30: “If a job offer was withdrawn, do I have a claim to be compensated?”
- QA 31: “How should I respond to a request for an Exit Interview?”
- QA 32: “How can I protect a ‘value proposition’ when interviewing in the advertising industry?”
- QA 33: “How can I figure out why I am not being hired”
- QA 34: “Can I ‘un-accept’ an accepted job offer?”
- QA 35: “Any suggestions for getting a Promotion or Raise?”
- QA 36: “Can a prospective employer ask if I smoke, or if I have a mortgage?”
- QA 37: “Can my present employer ask a prospective employer not to hire me?”
- QA 38: “Eight positive reasons to explain frequent job changes.”
- QA 39: “If an agency introduces me to an employer, can I take a different job directly with the employer?”
- QA 40: “Can employers require medical information from job applicants?”
- QA 41: “If, during the interview process, facts change, should I tell those interviewing me?”
- QA 42: “If I am offered my dream job, but my teaching contract says I can’t leave, how do I handle it?”
- QA 43: “Prospective employer broke its promise to pay interview-related expenses. What should I do?”
- QA 44: “Background Check done incorrectly – anything I can do?”
- QA 45: “Is it OK to ‘deflate’ my resume?”
- QA 46: “Can I prevent prospective employers using my resume to get business without hiring me?”
C. Salary, Raise, Bonus, Compensation
"Don't put it in my ear, but in my hand."
Russian Proverb
- NL 1: It’s September: Time to Set Your Boss’s Expectations for Your Year-End-Bonus
- NL 2: Commissions: What Happens When You Leave?
- NL 3: For a Raise or Promotion, Use “Triggers of Value.”
- NL 4: Four Key Trends in Executive Compensation
- NL 5: Hey, it’s August . . . Time to Put Together This Year’s “Achievement Scorecard”
- NL 6: Bonus or Raise Disappointing? Consider These Alternative Forms of “Compensation”
- NL 7: “What Salary Do You Seek?” The Four Smartest Responses
- NL 8: Clawback – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 9: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 1: Low Raise Expected – What Should I Do?
- QA 2: Raise Request “Turnaround”: What Are My Options?
- QA 3: No Evaluation – No Raise: Should I Quit?
- QA 4: Payment in Cash, and Penalty for Resigning: Is this Legal?
- QA 5: Been laid off. If last year’s bonus is denied, can I sue?
- QA 6: “I need help in getting the raise I want.”
- QA 7: “What recourse do we have after our employer has reduced salaries 10% across the board?”
- QA 8: “Can I enforce an agreement to raise my pay if most, but not all, of the required conditions were achieved?”
- QA 9: “If I give in my notice of resignation, effective in two weeks, and bonuses are due in one week, can I lose my bonus?”
- QA 10: “Can an employer lay off an employee and then hire him or her back at a reduced salary?”
- QA 11: “Any way I can get a ‘success bonus’ for helping attract a buyer for my company?”
- QA 12: “Can I sue for not getting paid a ‘discretionary’ bonus?”
- QA 13: “To get to ‘bonus day,’ can I use vacation days?”
- QA 14: “Should I raise a ‘moral right’ to a raise?”
- QA 15: “Any suggestions for getting a Promotion or Raise?”
- QA 16: “What should I do if the raise offered is insufficient?”
- QA 17: “Can an employer change a compensation plan retroactively?”
- QA 18: “Commission and Sales Bonus Plans: Read them or it will cost you.”
- QA 19: “Can my employer simply reduce compensation promised in my offer letter?”
- QA 20: “If I am not paid commissions due me, is my non-compete still valid?”
- QA 21: “If my boss approves a payment to me in error, am I entitled to receive it?”
- QA 22: “If a job offers a certain pay, can I negotiate that?”
- QA 23: “Is sign-on bonus repayment to an employer ‘before taxes’ or ‘after taxes’?”
- QA 24: “Should I get extra compensation for extra services and extra success by my employer?”
- QA 25: “If I resign after 9 months of the year, how can I still get my yearly bonus?”
- QA 26: “If laid off near year-end, am I entitled to partial bonus?”
- QA 27: “Can my employer lower my pay starting two weeks ago, without telling me?”
- QA 28: “I don’t get paid for cancelled appointments, although the company is. Should I?”
- QA 29: “Sales compensation plans: are there limits on when and how they can be changed?”
- QA 30: Clawback – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 31: “Bonus was paid to others after I left; any recourse?”
- QA 32: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
D. Benefits, Pensions and Perq’s
"Enjoy life. It’s ungrateful not to."
Ronald Reagan, President
- NL 1: Twelve Steps to Negotiating a “Bridge to Retirement”
- QA 1: Benefit Plan Complaint – “Sue or Tell?”
- QA 2: “I’d like to ‘telecommute’ my job. How do I approach my boss?”
- QA 3: No Right to Maternity Leave: How Do I Negotiate Time Off?
- QA 4: Is it illegal to have two health insurance policies at the same time?
- QA 5: “My company avoids both severance and pensions by something called ‘re-badging’ employees. Is this legal?”
- QA 6: “Is there a deadline to file a Workers Compensation case?”
- QA 7: “Can I collect Unemployment Insurance benefits at the same time I am pursuing a claim for Workers Compensation benefits?”
- QA 8: “Is it a violation of privacy if my supervisor told Human Resources that I am seeking counseling from Employee Assistance Program at work?”
- QA 9: “If an employee returns from a personal leave, and turns down a comparable position offered to her, is she entitled to anything else?”
- QA 10: “If I receive severance payments over time, will that count toward the time I need to vest in the company retirement plan?”
- QA 11: “If I am required to give ‘four weeks’ notice when I resign, can one of those weeks be a vacation?”
- QA 12: “Can I retire and also continue working for my employer?”
- QA 13: “If I resign will I still get my retirement money I put in?”
- QA 14: “Can I use my severance to get a ‘bridge to retirement?’”
- QA 15: “Prior notice is required; can I retire now anyway?”
- QA 16: “Others were paid for not using health insurance; not me. Any rights?”
E. COBRA and FMLA
"Law is order, and good law is good order."
Aristotle
- NL 1: A Special Issue: The Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) – The 50 Things You May Need to Know
- NL 2: Ten Circumstances When COBRA is NOT Available to You
- NL 3: COBRA: The 21 Most Frequently Asked Questions
- QA 1: “I took a FMLA leave of absence, and my boss told people of my medical problem. What should I do?”
- QA 2: “Do I have any right to reinstatement when I return from a medical leave?”
- QA 3: “While on FMLA leave, can I keep up with office emails?”
- QA 4: “I need to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) – Where do I start?”
- QA 5: “If I am on COBRA from my last job, and I become eligible for health insurance from my new employer at a much higher cost, can I stay on COBRA?”
- QA 6: “If my employer has declared bankruptcy, can I still get COBRA benefits?”
- QA 7: “To be eligible for COBRA coverage, must I be on my employer’s medical plan for any certain period of time?”
- QA 8: “What can I do if I was put on a Performance Improvement Plan in response to my taking a FMLA leave of absence?”
- QA 9: “How can I get some needed relief from FMLA-retaliation?”
- QA 10: “Is it a violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to be denied a full raise based on my FMLA-approved absences?”
- QA 11: “Does this sound like a legal case of ‘perceived disability’ discrimination?”
- QA 12: “If I work during FMLA leave, without prior approval, do I get paid?”
- QA 13: “How do I resign while on FMLA leave (especially with a bully boss)?”
F. Agreements and Contracts
"Trust in Allah, but tie your camel."
Arabian Proverb
- NL 1: How to Give Yourself the Job Security and other Benefits of an Employment Contract
- NL 2: How To Negotiate Your “Welcome Aboard” Letter
- NL 3: Use “No Less Favorable” When At Impasse in Your Office Negotiations
- NL 4: Negotiating Employment with a “Private Equity” Firm – 7 Surprises to Expect
- NL 5: 10 Questions You Need to Ask About “Change Of Control” Provisions
- NL 6: Sign a Copy Today . . . Just in Case You’re Not “Around” Tomorrow
- NL 7: In Offer Letters and Employment Contracts, Watch Carefully for an “Integration Clause”
- NL 8: The “Successors-and-Assigns” Clause – Without It, All Can Be Lost
- NL 9: The Employee’s “Duty to Mitigate” – What Does That Mean?
- NL 10: In Employment Agreements and Offer Letters – Beware of “Incorporated By Reference”
- NL 11: “In Hiring Memos, Offer Letters and Employment Agreements, Beware of ‘Words of Intention’”
- NL 12: The “Survival Clause” in Employment Agreements – Ignore It, and It Can “Kill” You
- NL 13: “Employer’s Sole Discretion” in Contracts, Handbooks and Compensation Plans: Six Strong Arguments to Defeat It
- NL 14: Robbery by Repurchase Rights – A Private Equity Story
- NL 15: Don’t Be Fooled by the “May – Shall” Trick
- NL 16: “Any way I can make sure I will get a promised promotion?”
- NL 17: Don’t Be Hoodwinked by The “Whereas Clauses” in Agreements
- NL 18: “If my former employer closes, and opens a new company, is my non-compete (or other contracts) valid?”
- NL 19: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 20: “Garden Leave’s Little Secret: It is Not Very Enforceable”
- QA 1: Can an Employer Take Back a Job Offer?
- QA 2: Are Employment Offer Letters Binding like Contracts?
- QA 3: “Lured into making a job move by an oral promise of six years’ work. Let go after four years. Do I have any recourse?”
- QA 4: “Can my employer require I sign an employment contract long after I started the job, and fire me if I refuse?”
- QA 5: “Can we enforce an employer’s promise to employ us ‘for life?’”
- QA 6: “How might I resign, and get the balance of my employment contract paid out to me?”
- QA 7: “Employment Contract Broken by Employer; New Job Found Right Away: What am I Entitled to?”
- QA 8: “Is a change-in-control provision in an executive employment agreement the same as a separate change-in-control agreement?”
- QA 9: “If my friend is not getting paid what was promised in her offer letter, does she have any way to correct this?”
- QA 10: “Can I enforce an agreement to raise my pay if most, but not all, of the required conditions were achieved?”
- QA 11: “When an agreement ‘expires’ on a certain date, do you have to also give ‘notice’ of leaving?”
- QA 12: “If it hasn’t yet been accepted, can a severance offer be changed, or withdrawn?”
- QA 13: “If an employee has a Master’s Degree paid for by an employer, based on the employee’s promise to stay three years, or repay the $30,000, what happens if the employee is laid off?”
- QA 14: “My employment contract was replaced by a second one I didn’t sign. Is the second one binding on me?”
- QA 15: “Can I Work for a Licensee or Vendor of my Former Employer?”
- QA 16: “Is this ‘Successors and Assigns’ clause a problem?”
- QA 17: “How should I negotiate a job offer that includes relocating to another country?”
- QA 18: “Do I have any recourse if my job responsibilities, and income, are taken from me without notice?”
- QA 19: “Can I fight my employer for enforcing a rule on me on the basis that others break the rules, too?”
- QA 20: “Once an employment agreement has been terminated, two months later can the employer terminate it again, for a different reason?”
- QA 21: “Can my boss tell me I have to renegotiate signed customer contracts, or suffer lower commissions if I can’t?”
- QA 22: “Offer Letter or Employee Handbook: Which counts more?”
- QA 23: “Stranded and abandoned on overseas assignment. What to do?”
- QA 24: “Can an employer take back a Change Of Control ‘trigger’?”
- QA 25: “Can an employer change a compensation plan retroactively?”
- QA 26: “If I can’t get a work visa, can an employer withdraw a job offer?”
- QA 27: “Employer has reneged on all agreed terms. What are my rights?”
- QA 28: “What if my employment contract and employee handbook conflict?”
- QA 29: “If I am offered my dream job, but my teaching contract says I can’t leave, how do I handle it?”
- QA 30: “Should I get extra compensation for extra services and extra success by my employer?”
- QA 31: “If an agreement is signed by “J. Smith, Pres., XYZ Company,” is it a personal or company obligation?”
- QA 32: “Can a non-compete agreement require that New York law applies even if the company is not in New York?”
- QA 33: “Can vague words in an offer letter create a repayment promise?”
- QA 34: “Any way I can make sure I will get a promised promotion?”
- QA 35: “What is a ‘change of control’ for vesting purposes?”
- QA 36: “In a ‘successors-and-assigns’ clause, what are the employee’s heirs obligated and entitled to?”
- QA 37: “Does a repayment obligation in an employment contract become invalid if there is no ‘survival clause?’”
- QA 38: “If laid off near year-end, am I entitled to partial bonus?”
- QA 39: “I don’t get paid for cancelled appointments, although the company is. Should I?”
- QA 40: “Can I get out of a signed employment contract?”
- QA 41: “Prior notice is required; can I retire now anyway?”
- QA 42: “If my former employer closes, and opens a new company, is my non-compete (or other contracts) valid?”
- QA 43: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
G. Job Security
"Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm."
Malaysian Proverb
- NL 1: For Job Security, It’s important to “Diversify Your P.P.O.P.P.’s”
- NL 2: Beware of Temporary Assignments to “Special Projects”
- NL 3: Job Security You Can Create for Yourself
- NL 4: Avoid Being RIF’ed – Five Effective Strategies
- NL 5: New Employer an L-L-C or I-N-C? Think Gua-Ran-Tee.
- NL 6: “At-Will Employment” – What Exactly Does That Mean?
- NL 7: Over 50? Eight Ways to Remain Employed and Employable
- NL 8: Job Security – Six Types, and More . . .
- NL 9: “Change in Control at the Office? Here’s 10 Ways to Keep Your Job”
- NL 10: Email at Work – Avoid These “Dozen Digital Disasters”
- NL 11: “Facing Merger or Sale of Your Employer? Here’s Fifteen Smart Steps”
- NL 12: Avoid, If You Can, The “Obsolete Job” Trap
- NL 13: 21 Tips For the Newly Hired Employee
- NL 14: “Survivor Demotion” – When a Lower Level Job Is Preferable to Layoff
- NL 15: The “Seeking a New Job Letter” – Often Overlooked, but Highly Effective
- QA 1: Does “At Will” Have Any Limits or Exceptions?
- QA 2: Can I Lose My Teacher’s License for Leaving an “At Will” Job?
- QA 3: If my husband was laid off because he was deployed to Iraq, does he have any rights?
- QA 4: Is it legal to lay off employees just to save on their benefits, or because they have been employed for many years?
- QA 5: How do workers get job security?
- QA 6: “What can I do to ensure that, if I accept a “special assignment,” if it ends I’ll remain employed?”
- QA 7: “How can I tell if I have job security?”
- QA 8: “What should I expect after ‘re-badging?’”
- QA 9: “Can ‘involuntary resignation’ be used in an ‘at will’ state (for a bully boss)?”
- QA 10: “My boss asked me for a job description; should I be worried?”
- QA 11: Where can I find “niches” to further my career?
- QA 12: “Is it illegal or unethical to work for two competing hotels?”
H. Non-Compete's and Trade Secrets
"Secrecy is the soul of business."
Spanish Proverb
- NL 1: “Non-Compete Non-Sense” – What to Do if Asked to Sign One
- NL 2: If You Leave Your Job, Can You Take Your Customers With You?
- NL 3: “Hidden Handcuffs” – Watch out for Buried and Disguised Non-Compete Agreements
- NL 4: When Leaving Your Job, How to Take Your Colleagues With You
- NL 5: How to Defeat a Non-Compete: Ten Effective Defenses
- NL 6: “If tied to an unpaid bonus, is a non-compete enforceable?”
- NL 7: “If my former employer closes, and opens a new company, is my non-compete (or other contracts) valid?”
- NL 8: “Garden Leave’s Little Secret: It is Not Very Enforceable”
- QA 1: In “Non-Competition,” What Constitutes “Competition?”
- QA 2: “Sign this Non-Competition Agreement, or Leave” – Is that Legal?
- QA 3: If I get nothing in return, is my non-compete enforceable?
- QA 4: “Administrator in a Doctor’s Office. Told I must sign a Non-Compete Agreement. Anything I can do?”
- QA 5: “If an employee’s position is eliminated is a non-compete still enforceable?”
- QA 6: “If I signed a non-compete / non-solicit agreement, does that stop me from working for a customer of my former employer?”
- QA 7: “Can I Work for a Licensee or Vendor of my Former Employer?”
- QA 8: “Does leaving an employer, and then returning, relieve me from a non-compete agreement I signed the first time I was hired?”
- QA 9: “Is there a way I can ‘get out of’ the non-compete agreement I signed?”
- QA 10: “Can an employer require you get its prior approval for a side job or a side business?”
- QA 11: “Can I compete with my former employer without getting sued?”
- QA 12: “Can I get around a ‘non-solicitation’ agreement?”
- QA 13: “Must an employee be paid to sign a non-compete?”
- QA 14: “Is a non-compete agreement enforceable after being let go without cause?”
- QA 15: “With a ‘no-poach’ agreement, can I hire a fired employee?”
- QA 16: “Can I do work ‘on the side’ so long as it doesn’t violate the non-compete I signed?”
- QA 17: “Are non-compete agreements binding on independent contractors?”
- QA 18: “If I am not paid commissions due me, is my non-compete still valid?”
- QA 19: “Can a company selectively enforce non-compete agreements?”
- QA 20: “Can I sue my former employer for ‘interfering’ with my new job?”
- QA 21: “Should non-solicit clauses be treated the same as non-compete clauses?”
- QA 22: “Can I be on ‘Garden Leave’ and reemployed elsewhere at the same time?”
- QA 23: “Can a non-compete agreement require that New York law applies even if the company is not in New York?”
- QA 24: “How should an employer treat an employee who works for a competitor?”
- QA 25: “What is ‘indirect’ solicitation of customers?”
- QA 26: “Are my relatives and friends legally obligated by a non-compete agreement I signed?”
- QA 27: “Can an employer pick and choose who must sign a non-compete?”
- QA 28: “If tied to an unpaid bonus, is a non-compete enforceable?”
- QA 29: “If I signed a non-solicitation agreement, can I now create a website for my new business?”
- QA 30: “The Three Different Ways Non-Compete’s are Enforced”
- QA 31: “Can I solicit customers of my former employer?”
- QA 32: “If my former employer closes, and opens a new company, is my non-compete (or other contracts) valid?”
I. Retaliation and Speaking Out
"He who speaks the truth must have one foot in the stirrup."
Armenian Proverb
- NL 1: Seen Accounting Fraud? New and Powerful “Whistleblower” Protections for Employees
- NL 2: Your Employer’s “Speak Out” Policy May Give You a “Mini-Employment Contract”
- NL 3: Ten Ways to Avoid Being Made a Corporate Scapegoat
- NL 4: Retaliated Against At Work for Doing What’s “Right?” Courts and Juries are Now on Your Side
- NL 5: I.R.S. Pays Employee $4.5 Million for Reporting Employer’s Tax Cheating: The Eight Things You Need to Know
- NL 6: “The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
– A Primer for Employees” - QA 1: Being Retaliated Against for Cooperating in a Discrimination Investigation – What Should I Do?
- QA 2: Retaliated Against for “Whistle Blowing”: What Should I Do?
- QA 3: “Retaliated Against for Filing a Discrimination Charge – What Should I Do?”
- QA 4: Retaliation is getting me seriously down. What can I do?
- QA 5: Boss is lying on her time sheets. How do I report it?
- QA 6: “Is what happened to me illegal ‘Retaliation’?”
- QA 7: “I’ve been retaliated against – not by my boss – but by my co-workers, for doing the right thing. Is there any best way to deal with this?”
- QA 8: “As an HR Manager, if I report apparent misconduct, am I protected if the apparent wrongdoer retaliates against me?”
- QA 9: “Is there a law that prevents my employer from firing me for coming forward and submitting a complaint against my manager?”
- QA 10: “If I file a complaint against a colleague, can HR turn it around and blame me?”
- QA 11: “After reporting our boss for improper behavior, what can we do to prevent being retaliated against?”
- QA 12: “Could I get in trouble for ‘going public’ about a threat to public welfare that my company covered up?”
- QA 13: “Is it retaliation to have your company car, company laptop and company cell phone taken away during a FMLA leave of absence?”
- QA 14: “Does this sound like I have a case of discrimination?”
- QA 15: “Does what happened to me sound like a Disability Discrimination and Retaliation claim under federal law?”
- QA 16: “Is it true that in New Jersey it is now legal for an employee to copy company documents to use in court cases, without fear of being fired for it?”
- QA 17: “I have a question about your recent post about New Jersey employees’ rights to copy company documents without being fired for it in retaliation.”
- QA 18: “How do I respond to retaliation for filing a complaint of unlawful discrimination?”
- QA 19: “Can my boss legally replace me with his girlfriend?”
- QA 20: “How should I report a sadistic manager / bully boss?”
- QA 21: “Does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or other laws, protect lower-level employees of not-for-profits?”
- QA 22: “How can I prove retaliation has occurred?”
- QA 23: “I fear the consequences of filing a complaint; any suggestions?”
- QA 24: “Directed by my employer to discriminate; what can I do?”
- QA 25: “How can I prevent being blamed for misconduct by former colleagues?”
- QA 26: “How can I prove I’ve been retaliated against?”
- QA 27: “If I negotiate, will my severance be taken off the table?”
J. Performance Improvement Plans
"A successful man is one who can build a firm foundation
with the bricks that others throw at him."
David Brinkley, Broadcast Journalist
- NL 1: Always “Push Back” at Poor Performance Reviews
- NL 2: Performance Review Approaching? 12 Ways to Enhance Yours
- NL 3: Performance Review a Problem? 16 Steps to a Robust Rebuttal
- QA 1: Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) – Can My New Boss Do That?
- QA 2: “Asked to sign 30-day Notice of Termination based on Performance Criticisms – What Should I Do?”
- QA 3: “Being Placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“P.I.P.”). What should I do?”
- QA 4: “I’m out on medical leave, placed on P.I.P., let go, and in need of a referral for legal assistance . . . can you help?
- QA 5: Must I Sign a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”)?
- QA 6: Can a future employer find out I was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (called a “PIP”)?
- QA 7: Tricked into signing a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”). Anything I can do now?
- QA 8: “I’m on FMLA leave and was just notified I’ll be placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) when I return. Is this legal?”
- QA 9: How do I explain being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) to an interviewer?
- QA 10: “After challenging a PIP, unsuccessfully, should I continue up the ladder, or go through the PIP process?”
- QA 11: “This Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’) stuff seems so complicated, confusing and overwhelming. Is it really possible to beat this?”
- QA 12: “Performance Improvement Plan – Questions”
- QA 13: “Boss unreasonable in evaluating success of PIP. Any thoughts?”
- QA 14: “Ever heard of a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) being used to force retirement?”
- QA 15: “I’m 35 weeks pregnant, and just been put on a questionable Performance Improvement Plan. Can you help?”
- QA 16: “Can my manager put ‘hearsay’ into my PIP?”
- QA 17: “My Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’) seems irrational. What should I do?”
- QA 18: “My employer did not follow the Performance Improvement Plan I was placed on. What should I do?”
- QA 19: “After successfully completing a Performance Improvement Plan, yet still told ‘It’s just not working out’ and let go, will I be entitled to unemployment insurance?”
- QA 20: “Placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) the day I returned from maternity leave. How do I submit an Involuntary Resignation letter?”
- QA 21: “Should I bring someone with me to a meeting about a Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’)?”
- QA 22: “What can I do if I was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”), and my Manager seems to be sabotaging my improvement efforts?”
- QA 23: “Do I have a right to a copy of tape-recorded performance review meetings?”
- QA 24: “Since I was diagnosed with ADHD during my Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’), should that affect things?”
- QA 25: “My employer engages in a process called ‘forced ranking,’ which was used to give me my first negative review in 10 years, and deny me severance. Anything I can do?”
- QA 26: “How often do people ‘succeed’ or ‘survive’ Performance Improvement Plans?”
- QA 27: “Is there a way to tell if a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) is honest, or fraudulent?”
- QA 28: “How do I contest a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) in a ‘non-attacking’ manner?”
- QA 29: “I’ve been placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) for not being proficient in something that is not even part of my job. What can I do?”
- QA 30: “What can I do if I was put on a Performance Improvement Plan in response to my taking a FMLA leave of absence?”
- QA 31: “How should I respond to a retaliatory, dishonest and negative Performance Review?”
- QA 32: “If I sign a Performance Improvement Plan, if I am let go, might I get a Severance Package?”
- QA 33: “If I am on a Performance Improvement Plan, and fear I might get fired soon, should I tell a prospective employer who will soon be checking my employment history that I am thinking of resigning?”
- QA 34: “Am I supposed to have access to my Performance Action Plan or Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”), and the progress I am making on it?”
- QA 35: “How could I be placed on a Performance Improvement Plan if I am a salesperson and I have achieved 200% of my sales goal?”
- QA 36: “Do I have a right to have an independent person accompany me to a performance review meeting?”
- QA 37: “Why do employers bother giving employees Performance Improvement Plans (“PIP’s”), if they always fire them after?”
- QA 38: “How can I, as an HR professional, help managers improve employee performance?”
- QA 39: “Bully Boss gave me a PIP; what now?”
- QA 40: “If I’m moving over to a different manager at my company, need I object to a false, negative Performance Review?”
- QA 41: “Is it worthless to approach Management about a false Performance Improvement Plan?”
- QA 42: “Are Performance Improvement Plans enforceable as contracts?”
- QA 43: “Must I acknowledge receipt of my Performance Improvement Plan?”
- QA 44: “Does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or other laws, protect lower-level employees of not-for-profits?”
- QA 45: “Is it possible to push back at a Performance Improvement Plan, and then succeed in it?”
- QA 46: “Can I say ‘Skip the PIP’ and go straight to severance?”
- QA 47: “Seven Good Reasons ‘PIP-Pushback’ should not be by an Attorney”
- QA 48: “HR has not responded to PIP pushback; should I involuntarily resign?”
- QA 49: “How can I overcome a poor in-company reputation?”
- QA 50: “Young and PIP’ed? Here’s five thoughts to ponder.”
- QA 51: “Pregnant and PIP’ed – What should I do?”
- QA 52: “Should I respond in my “PIP Meeting” or after, in writing?”
- QA 53: “Offered severance at the end of a Performance Improvement Plan; can I ask for more?”
- QA 54: Performance Review a Problem? 16 Steps to a Robust Rebuttal
- QA 55: “I did not pass my Performance Improvement Plan. Is it too late to contest it?”
- QA 56: “Followed your PIP method. Didn’t work. What next?”
- QA 57: “After resigning, must I ‘close out’ a Performance Improvement Plan?”
- QA 58: “Threatened PIP has not arrived; should I do anything?”
- QA 59: “Negative Performance Review without Warning; Is There a Case?”
K. Discrimination, Harassment & Hostility
"Prejudice is the reason of fools."
Voltaire
- NL 1: 21 Ways to Avoid Being Accused of Sexual Harassment
- NL 2: Filing a Complaint or Grievance at Work? Remember that “Specificity Yields Credibility”
- QA 1: Laid Off for a “Phony” Reason; Might it Be Discrimination?
- QA 2: “Harassed and Going Crazy – What Can I Do?”
- QA 3: “Harassed; On Final Warning; Getting Sick – Is it time to give up and find a new job?”
- QA 4: “Is asking what year you graduated from college a kind of age discrimination?”
- QA 5: “If I think my termination might have been related to my age, should I consult with an attorney?”
- QA 6: “I’ve filed a Human Rights Commission complaint of discrimination. Is there anything else I can do now?”
- QA 7: “Do you think that employers are targeting older workers for layoffs and Performance Improvement Plans?”
- QA 8: “After I have signed a severance agreement, without help from an attorney, can I still file a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?”
- QA 9: “Do I have a case of discrimination?”
- QA 10: “Can I be fired for having a sick child?”
- QA 11: “Is a 17-year-old protected by the age discrimination laws, or a company’s age-related policies?”
- QA 12: “If, after I filed an EEOC claim, my boss is menacing me and even touching me in a disturbing way, what should I do?”
- QA 13: “Does this sound like I have a case of discrimination?”
- QA 14: “Is hiring by ‘experience level’ illegal age discrimination?”
- QA 15: “Can my boss legally replace me with his girlfriend?”
- QA 16: “Can’t take further abuse, and can’t complain or leave. Any ideas?”
- QA 17: “How can I get more time to file a discrimination lawsuit?”
- QA 18: “Is it discrimination when a boss favors an employee he is dating?”
- QA 19: “I fear the consequences of filing a complaint; any suggestions?”
- QA 20: “Is it ‘reverse discrimination’ if some people can use racist words, but some people can’t?”
- QA 21: “Directed by my employer to discriminate; what can I do?”
- QA 22: “What if my former employer ignores my filed discrimination complaints?”
- QA 23: “I fear workplace violence; what should I do?”
- QA 24: “How to File a Federal Lawsuit without an Attorney”
- QA 25: “Should I file a complaint with HR, or just resign?”
- QA 26: “Stress from work is killing me. Please help!!”
L. Resigning from Your Job
"No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back."
Turkish Proverb
- NL 1: If You Leave Your Job, Can You Take Your Customers With You?
- NL 2: In Job Transitions, Focus On “The Three T’s Of Transition”
- NL 3: Resigning From Your Job – The 21 Necessary Precautions
- NL 4: If you leave your job, “L.E.A.V.E.” is how you spell “Must-Take Checklist.”
- NL 5: Involuntary Resignation – Standing Up, Not Giving Up, to an Intolerable Situation at Work
- NL 6: Don’t Be Fooled by the “May – Shall” Trick
- NL 7: “Should I tell my family-business employer I am looking for a new job?”
- NL 8: Illegal Workplace Discrimination? Here’s How to Tell
- NL 9: “Garden Leave’s Little Secret: It is Not Very Enforceable”
- QA 1: If I resign, can I collect for accrued but unpaid vacation?
- QA 2: Forced to Leave: How Should I Do It?
- QA 3: Vacation Pay Accrued – Is It Paid to Me If I Resign?
- QA 4: Should I Resign to Avoid Possible Termination?
- QA 5: “Small Firm Employee: Will They Take My Leaving “Personally?”
- QA 6: “Need Simple Resignation Letter – Can You Provide One?”
- QA 7: “My Former Employer Keeps Telling Clients I’m Still Employed – What Should I Do?”
- QA 8: “I resigned under unusual circumstances – did I just throw away any chance for unemployment compensation?”
- QA 9: “I have a good working relation with my employer. If I collect my bonus, and then resign, will I jeopardize my reputation and the respect I have earned?”
- QA 10: My daughter gave “Notice,” then got sick, and can’t go back to finish her notice period. Is that going to be a problem?
- QA 11: Forged resignation . . . What should I do?
- QA 12: I gave 30 days’ notice; my boss wants that to be 30 work days. Who is right?
- QA 13: “Can I ‘adjust’ what my employer deems ‘two weeks notice’?”
- QA 14: “Is it wise to resign because promotion was denied, and without a new job?”
- QA 15: “How might I resign, and get the balance of my employment contract paid out to me?”
- QA 16: “Do employees have a ‘Right to Quit’?”
- QA 17: “Questions about Timing of Resignation”
- QA 18: “Resign or Be Terminated. What should I do?”
- QA 19: “My boss told my colleagues I resigned, which is false. He then sent me home. What should I do?”
- QA 20: “How can you resign from a job in both silence and good conscience, if it means that people in need will only remain in greater need?”
- QA 21: “Placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) the day I returned from maternity leave. How do I submit an Involuntary Resignation letter?”
- QA 22: “If I give two weeks’ notice, can I use my earned vacation time as part of that two weeks?”
- QA 23: “If I resigned effective January 31, but was then laid off on January 11, do I have any legal options?”
- QA 24: “Can I be forced to sign a ‘voluntary’ resignation form to get my severance?”
- QA 25: “If I give in my notice of resignation, effective in two weeks, and bonuses are due in one week, can I lose my bonus?”
- QA 26: “When an agreement ‘expires’ on a certain date, do you have to also give ‘notice’ of leaving?”
- QA 27: “If I am fired for harassment, can I collect unemployment?”
- QA 28: “What are the ramifications of being terminated, as opposed to resigning?”
- QA 29: “Is it OK to give notice of resignation BEFORE I fully vest in my 401k?”
- QA 30: “Can a wife resign her husband out of his job?”
- QA 31: “Can an employer delay accepting an employee’s resignation?”
- QA 32: “If I submit an Involuntary Resignation, and mention specific things that happened to me, can my employer make a claim or start a lawsuit against me?”
- QA 33: “Can an employee be fired for giving notice (of resignation)?”
- QA 34: “After I ‘involuntarily resigned’ under unfair circumstances, I was denied unemployment. Do I have any rights?”
- QA 35: “After I’ve resigned, can my employer fire me before the last date I told them I would work?”
- QA 36: “Will I be looked down upon in the business world if I give less than the 90 days of notice required by our employee handbook?”
- QA 37: “When resigning, must I work one day extra if requested by my employer?”
- QA 38: “How should I respond to a request for an Exit Interview?”
- QA 39: “I resigned for fear of my boss; can I withdraw it?”
- QA 40: “If I give six weeks notice of retirement, can my employer terminate me before that?”
- QA 41: “How do I resign and still get unemployment benefits?”
- QA 42: “If I give notice, but am told ‘leave now,’ do I get paid?”
- QA 43: “In South Africa, can I give less than one month notice?”
- QA 44: “Any suggestions for timing of two spouses’ resignations?”
- QA 45: “18 non-volatile reasons to offer a bully boss when resigning”
- QA 46: “Can ‘involuntary resignation’ be used in an ‘at will’ state (for a bully boss)?”
- QA 47: “If I resign will I still get my retirement money I put in?”
- QA 48: “Can a resignation be made effective on a later date that avoids a repayment obligation?”
- QA 49: “If my boss tells me to find a new job, and I find one, do I lose my severance?”
- QA 50: “Can my boss make me sign a letter saying I left voluntarily in return for a letter of recommendation?”
- QA 51: “Can I be on ‘Garden Leave’ and reemployed elsewhere at the same time?”
- QA 52: “Can my employer refuse to let me resign?”
- QA 53: Does a conflict of interest continue after you have resigned?
- QA 54: “How can I best resign to a very good boss?”
- QA 55: “Resigned due to stress, overwork and burn out. Can I get unemployment?”
- QA 56: “If I resign after 9 months of the year, how can I still get my yearly bonus?”
- QA 57: “How should I tell my mentor and HR I want to resign after one month?”
- QA 58: “Should I tell my family-business employer I am looking for a new job?”
- QA 59: “After resigning, must I ‘close out’ a Performance Improvement Plan?”
- QA 60: “Should I file a complaint with HR, or just resign?”
- QA 61: “Use ‘The Three D’s’ when resigning from a good job.”
M. Retention Bonuses & Agreements
"The key challenge of our times is to keep your key people."
Alan Shugart
- NL 1: How to Negotiate “Retention Agreements”
- NL 2: For Our Bear Stearns Friends and Similarly Situated Persons: Sklover’s Primer on Retention Agreements
- QA 1: “My employer is selling my division, and would like me to agree to stay on after the sale. How much retention and severance monies should I expect?”
- QA 2: Retention Bonus: Whether and How to Request One
- QA 3: “How much should my husband ask to be ‘retained’ by his company for six months longer than he would like to stay on?”
- QA 4: “Any way I can get a ‘success bonus’ for helping attract a buyer for my company?”
- QA 5: “Can I ask a prospective employer to pay the retention package I will lose if I take the new job?”
N. Fired, Downsized or Laid Off
"Get to know God in prosperity so God will know you in adversity."
Muslim Proverb
- NL 1: Here’s What to Do if You’re Laid Off . . . or Think You Will Soon Be
- NL 2: “Cause” for Firing – What Exactly is It?
- NL 3: The Increasing Use of “Institutional Leverage” In Resolving Workplace Disputes
- QA 1: Fired, but Not Told: Is that Legal?
- QA 2: Being Out Sick: Can I Be Fired for That, or During That?
- QA 3: Terminated for Unpaid Parking Ticket – Is That Possible?
- QA 4: Fired a Week AFTER I Quit? – Is That Legal?
- QA 5: Laid Off for a “Phony” Reason; Might it Be Discrimination?
- QA 6: Eavesdropping on the Boss: Is it “Cause” to Fire Me?
- QA 7: Fired from Two Local Government Jobs: Any Way to Combat Possible Political Influence?
- QA 8: “Can the Board Hire one of its Members, and Lie about It?”
- QA 9: Fired, without Notice; What can I do?
- QA 10: “Laid off. I confirmed my receipt of the Layoff Documents. Did I Goof?”
- QA 11: “Do I have a Right to Know the Reason I was Let Go?”
- QA 12: “I was laid off in a large reduction in workforce. The decision to choose me for layoff doesn’t make sense. Is it too late to ask for the reason they chose me? Who should I ask?”
- QA 13: “I was laid off from my job, but then I received a letter that said I resigned. Are my unemployment insurance benefits at risk?”
- QA 14: I might be laid off. Should I raise concerns about discrimination now, before it happens?
- QA 15: I was supposedly “downsized,” but found out I was replaced. Any recourse?
- QA 16: Is it legal to lay off both husband and wife if they both work for the same employer?
- QA 17: Should I persist in asking WHY I was terminated?
- QA 18: Rumor I might be fired. What should I do?
- QA 19: “Is there ‘life’ beyond a horrible firing?”
- QA 20: “Must an employer offer new jobs to people recently laid off?”
- QA 21: “Fired for Unknown Misconduct – Any Recourse?”
- QA 22: “If it hasn’t yet been accepted, can a severance offer be changed, or withdrawn?”
- QA 23: “Is there an agreed definition of ‘insubordination’?”
- QA 24: “Can I be fired for being ‘insubordinate’ when I am not even working?”
- QA 25: “Is stating that I would not stay in a building on fire grounds for termination?”
- QA 26: “Can having a business website ‘on the side’ be reason for termination?”
- QA 27: “Is it fair to fire someone for re-sending to others unsolicited, offensive emails?”
- QA 28: “Can an employee be fired for giving notice (of resignation)?”
- QA 29: “Can I get fired for refusing to work on the weekends?”
- QA 30: Must employers provide a reason for terminating an employee?
- QA 31: “Must I give a tape recording to my boss?”
- QA 32: “What is ‘after-acquired cause’ for firing?”
- QA 33: “With no anti-texting policy, can I be fired for texting?”
- QA 34: “Fired for being overheard speaking to a colleague; anything I can do?”
- QA 35: “If I am terminated for cause, can accumulated leave time and comp time be denied me?”
O. Severance Packages
"Turn a setback into a comeback."
Billy Brewer, College Football Coach
- NL 1: Negotiating Severance: Your 6 Sources of Leverage
- NL 2: Yahoo! Uses Severance Packages Strategically to Thwart Microsoft Takeover – Lessons You Can Draw
- NL 3: Severance Payments: Can I Lose Them If My Employer Goes Bankrupt?
- NL 4: Severance Offers: When It Pays to Say “No Thank You”
- NL 5: “Survivor Demotion” – When a Lower Level Job Is Preferable to Layoff
- QA 1: Possible Bonus Payment Not Written in Severance Agreement – What Should I Do?
- QA 2: Refusing to Resign: Can HR Change Severance Offer?
- QA 3: How Much Severance is Fair?
- QA 4: Severance Deadline Nears – What Do I Do Now?
- QA 5: “Any tips on how to negotiate severance?”
- QA 6: “Can I be denied severance, or unemployment benefits, if I don’t accept a position offered to me by the company that just laid me off?”
- QA 7: Isn’t “mitigation” of severance unfair?
- QA 8: Not paid what I was promised. Should I raise that issue in severance negotiations?
- QA 9: Can an employee ever ASK for a severance package?
- QA 10: “I accepted a severance package four weeks after the deadline. Can my former employer refuse to pay?”
- QA 11: “Can we ask for a previously-offered severance package that was better than this one?”
- QA 12: “While I am on severance, can I be required to work, without extra pay?”
- QA 13: “Offered so-called ‘voluntary’ separation, with enhanced severance. Should I accept it?”
- QA 14: “My company avoids both severance and pensions by something called ‘re-badging’ employees. Is this legal?”
- QA 15: “How much should my husband ask to be ‘retained’ by his company for six months longer than he would like to stay on?”
- QA 16: “Can my employer require me to sign a document acknowledging that I was terminated for poor performance as a condition to my receiving severance?”
- QA 17: “My company is being sold. Should I stay on and work for the purchasing company, or take my severance and go?”
- QA 18: “Can I trust things my present employer is saying in meetings about severance and the intentions of the company’s new owners?”
- QA 19: “While on ‘termination notice,’ if I leave my company for a new job, before my last scheduled day of employment, will I still get severance?”
- QA 20: “If I signed a severance (or separation) agreement, can I still sue my employer for unlawful termination?”
- QA 21: “If my severance is reduced by monies I make working elsewhere, can I simply ask that payments I earn be delayed?”
- QA 22: “Can I be forced to sign a ‘voluntary’ resignation form to get my severance?”
- QA 23: “If it hasn’t yet been accepted, can a severance offer be changed, or withdrawn?”
- QA 24: “What is an ‘Administrative Claim’ for severance?”
- QA 25: “If an employee has a Master’s Degree paid for by an employer, based on the employee’s promise to stay three years, or repay the $30,000, what happens if the employee is laid off?”
- QA 26: “In Ohio, will my receiving severance reduce or limit my collecting unemployment benefits?”
- QA 27: “Can severance be negotiated? Anything I can do if I’ve already accepted the severance?”
- QA 28: “After I have signed a severance agreement, without help from an attorney, can I still file a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?”
- QA 29: “Can I really negotiate for better severance?”
- QA 30: “In negotiating my severance, can I use as leverage the fact that I know how much different employees are paid?”
- QA 31: “Should I ask for more time to negotiate severance?”
- QA 32: “If I take a new job elsewhere before my job is lost, will I lose my severance?”
- QA 33: “If I receive severance payments over time, will that count toward the time I need to vest in the company retirement plan?”
- QA 34: “If I sign a Performance Improvement Plan, if I am let go, might I get a Severance Package?”
- QA 35: “How long is an offer of severance good for?”
- QA 36: “Do I have any chance of collecting severance if my employer goes bankrupt after I’ve been laid off?”
- QA 37: “Other than outplacement, what can an employer do for a laid off employee?”
- QA 38: “If after I signed a severance agreement, I found out new info, could I still bring a case of wrongful termination?”
- QA 39: “Are you a fan of outplacement services?”
- QA 40: “After severance, can I sue my employer for workplace stress?”
- QA 41: “Can my boss legally replace me with his girlfriend?”
- QA 42: Must employers provide a reason for terminating an employee?
- QA 43: “Can severance consist just of retirement monies?”
- QA 44: “What is ‘after-acquired cause’ for firing?”
- QA 45: “What constitutes a ‘hostile work environment’?”
- QA 46: “Offered pittance of a severance. What is my next step?”
- QA 47: “What’s better – asking for more severance without an attorney, or with one?”
- QA 48: “If my boss tells me to find a new job, and I find one, do I lose my severance?”
- QA 49: “Can I say ‘Skip the PIP’ and go straight to severance?”
- QA 50: “If only the employee signs the severance agreement, is the employer bound by it?”
- QA 51: “Can I request severance or a cash settlement to keep quiet about an illegal practice by my employer?”
- QA 52: “Can my boss make me sign a letter saying I left voluntarily in return for a letter of recommendation?”
- QA 53: “Can I use my severance to get a ‘bridge to retirement?’”
- QA 54: “Offered severance at the end of a Performance Improvement Plan; can I ask for more?”
- QA 55: “How do I write a letter asking for more severance based on ‘humanitarian’ reasons?”
- QA 56: “If laid off near year-end, am I entitled to partial bonus?”
- QA 57: “When laid off, can I get my unvested options vested?”
- QA 58: “If I negotiate, will my severance be taken off the table?”
- QA 59: “Work in New Jersey; employer in Massachusetts. Which state’s lawyers can help me?”
P. References and Recommendations
"It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but just a moment to lose it."
Yiddish Proverb
- NL 1: The “Seeking a New Job Letter” – Often Overlooked, but Highly Effective
- QA 1: “I accepted a job offer, but now they insist on one more reference. Must I comply?”
- QA 2: “What happens if a prospective employer I’m interviewing with contacts my present employer? Should I let them?”
- QA 3: “My former employer refuses even to confirm my dates of employment. Any recourse?”
- QA 4: “Are prospective employers limited in what they can ask a former employer about you, and is the former employer limited in what it can say?”
- QA 5: “How can I deal with the possibility that my present employer is sabotaging my attempts to get a new job by saying bad things about me?”
- QA 6: “Can I stop my former employer from telling prospective employers that they would not hire me back if I applied?”
- QA 7: “How can I collect commissions due me from my former employer and still get a good job reference?”
- QA 8: “Can a former employee negotiate to get a neutral reason for departure from her former employer after she was terminated for poor performance?”
- QA 9: “How can I best obtain a confirmation of my prior employment?”
- QA 10: “Can my present employer ask a prospective employer not to hire me?”
- QA 11: “Can my boss make me sign a letter saying I left voluntarily in return for a letter of recommendation?”
- QA 12: “Is it OK to ‘deflate’ my resume?”
Q. Repayment Obligations
"It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."
Josiah Charles Stamp
- QA 1: “My former employer took money out of my bank account. Is that legal?”
- QA 2: “If I’m ‘at will’ and therefore can leave my job whenever I want to, what effect does that have on an agreement I signed that I would repay monies if I left before 12 months?”
- QA 3: “If an employee has a Master’s Degree paid for by an employer, based on the employee’s promise to stay three years, or repay the $30,000, what happens if the employee is laid off?”
- QA 4: “Can an employer just ‘hold back’ money it claims it is owed by an employee under a ‘claw back’ provision?”
- QA 5: “Must I repay a ‘Sign On’ bonus if I am fired on trumped up charges?”
- QA 6: “Can a relocation repayment obligation last forever, if the words suggest that?”
- QA 7: “Can a resignation be made effective on a later date that avoids a repayment obligation?”
- QA 8: “Can I be forced to repay commissions I never received?”
- QA 9: “If my employer aborts my relocation, do I still have to reimburse it if I leave?”
- QA 10: “Is sign-on bonus repayment to an employer ‘before taxes’ or ‘after taxes’?”
- QA 11: “Can vague words in an offer letter create a repayment promise?”
- QA 12: “Does a repayment obligation in an employment contract become invalid if there is no ‘survival clause?’”
R. Responding to "Why did you leave?"
Remarking on his hiring a man who had been responsible for a loss of
$377 million at his previous last job. "We believe in second chances."
Alan C. “Ace” Greenberg, Chairman, Bear Stearns
[Business Week, February 15, 1988]
- QA 1: “I Was Asked to Resign: What Do I Tell Interviewers?”
- QA 2: Resigned, but Need an Explanation
- QA 3: What’s My Best Response to “Why did you leave?”
- QA 4: Terminated: Do I Admit That in Interviews?
- QA 5: “Lost My Composure after 10 Years; Permitted to Resign. What do I put under ‘Reason for Leaving?’”
- QA 6: Interviewer’s Question: “Have you ever been asked to resign?” How Should I Respond?
- QA 7: Our “Top 25 Neutral Reasons to Explain Why You Left Your Old Job”
- QA 8: Left my job due to co-worker threats. What do I say in interviews?
- QA 9: “When interviewing for a new job, if I am asked about my pending lawsuit against my former employer, what do I say?”
- QA 10: “What are the ramifications of being terminated, as opposed to resigning?”
- QA 11: “How can I best answer the question on a job application ‘Have you ever been terminated or asked to resign?’”
- QA 12: “How do I explain job loss after a personal tragedy made me lose focus?”
- QA 13: “I don’t know how to answer ‘Why were you terminated?’”
- QA 14: “Eight positive reasons to explain frequent job changes.”
- QA 15: “What can I tell prospective employers about my secret government work?”
S. Arbitration and Mediation
"No man can think clearly with his fists clenched."
George Jean Nathan
- NL 1: Beware the Extraordinary Expense of Arbitration
- NL 2: Mediation of Workplace Disputes: “What’s It All About?”
- NL 3: Making Arbitration Work for You, Not Against You – “Sklover’s Arbitration Rules”
- QA 1: “Can my former employer require me to resolve my claims against it by using their own ‘resolution program,’ instead of in court?”
- QA 2: “10 Best Ways to ‘Get Out Of’ an Agreement to Arbitrate”
- QA 3: “If I win in arbitration, must I sign away my rights?”
T. Disputes and Resolving Them
"Who rides a tiger cannot dismount."
Chinese Proverb
- NL 1: The Increasing Use of “Institutional Leverage” In Resolving Workplace Disputes
- NL 2: Email at Work – Avoid These “Dozen Digital Disasters”
- QA 1: Settlement Offers – Do They Have to Be Kept Confidential?
- QA 2: Angry, Hostile Attorney for Boss – Any Recourse?
- QA 3: “My former employer took money out of my bank account. Is that legal?”
- QA 4: “My Boss Complains Behind My Back – How Should I Respond?”
- QA 5: “Can an employer insist that an employee’s Facebook page name an employer-representative as a “friend” so it can be closely monitored?”
- QA 6: Can I report something to HR and ask them to keep it confidential?
- QA 7: Job Description was very wrong. Any recourse?
- QA 8: Boss forged my signature. What do I do?
- QA 9: “How should I tell Senior Management I don’t want to work for my new boss?”
- QA 10: “Fired for Unknown Misconduct – Any Recourse?”
- QA 11: “My former employer is trying to sabotage my career, almost like a stalker. What can I do?”
- QA 12: “I left my job due to a hostile workplace. Now, three weeks later, my boss wants to talk with me. What does he want?”
- QA 13: “How can I collect $5,000 my employer owes me, but doesn’t seem to want to pay it?”
- QA 14: “If my employer paid me late, and I incurred overdraft charges as a result, what can I do?”
- QA 15: “Can I Work for a Licensee or Vendor of my Former Employer?”
- QA 16: “How can I get a copy of a document I signed and gave to my former employer?”
- QA 17: “How can I collect commissions due me from my former employer and still get a good job reference?”
- QA 18: “How can I get my employer to honor the salary offer it made when I was hired?”
- QA 19: “If a firm was representing me in my case against my employer and was also doing work for my employer, is that a ‘conflict of interest’?”
- QA 20: “Can my former employer require me to resolve my claims against it by using their own ‘resolution program,’ instead of in court?”
- QA 21: “How can I best obtain a confirmation of my prior employment?”
- QA 22: “After severance, can I sue my employer for workplace stress?”
- QA 23: “How can I stop my ex-employer’s use of my photo and resume on its website?”
- QA 24: “How can I stop my former employer from using my picture on its website?”
- QA 25: “How can I stop interference with my employment?”
- QA 26: “How does a court figure out a fair bonus?”
- QA 27: “How can I get more time to file a discrimination lawsuit?”
- QA 28: “Can my present employer ask a prospective employer not to hire me?”
- QA 29: “In what country should I start my lawsuit?”
- QA 30: “If I work during FMLA leave, without prior approval, do I get paid?”
- QA 31: “Laptop missing before I left my former job. Am I responsible?”
- QA 32: “Can I do work ‘on the side’ so long as it doesn’t violate the non-compete I signed?”
- QA 33: “Employer has reneged on all agreed terms. What are my rights?”
- QA 34: “If I am not paid commissions due me, is my non-compete still valid?”
- QA 35: “If my boss approves a payment to me in error, am I entitled to receive it?”
- QA 36: “Should I file a lawsuit in my city, or in the employer’s state of incorporation?”
- QA 37: “Can I stop my former employer from using my voice on its answering service?”
- QA 38: “Can I request severance or a cash settlement to keep quiet about an illegal practice by my employer?”
- QA 39: “Can I sue my former employer for ‘interfering’ with my new job?”
- QA 40: “Can a letter be considered a verbal warning?”
- QA 41: “Toxic smell in the office: what can I do?”
- QA 42: “What if my former employer ignores my filed discrimination complaints?”
- QA 43: What is “tortious interference with prospective business relations?”
- QA 44: “My husband was fired – falsely – for theft. Should he consult an attorney?”
U. Unemployment Benefits
"You, yourself, must make the effort. The Buddhas are only teachers."
Buddhist Proverb
- NL 1: Unemployment Insurance Benefits: The 12 Basics You Need to Know
- QA 1: Can I collect unemployment insurance benefits while I am collecting severance?
- QA 2: “Entitled to collect unemployment insurance even if full-time job offered to me?”
- QA 3: “Would earning money from stock investments disqualify me from unemployment?”
- QA 4: “I’ve collected three months of severance. Can I still file for unemployment compensation now?”
- QA 5: “I’ve been denied unemployment, and I lost my appeal. I’m considering appealing again. Your thoughts?”
- QA 6: “If my boss is hostile and my job is making me sick, can I resign and collect unemployment?”
- QA 7: “After successfully completing a Performance Improvement Plan, yet still told ‘It’s just not working out’ and let go, will I be entitled to unemployment insurance?”
- QA 8: “If I am fired for harassment, can I collect unemployment?”
- QA 9: “If I turn down a different job, two hours away, with substantially lower pay, will I be eligible for unemployment benefits?”
- QA 10: “In Ohio, will my receiving severance reduce or limit my collecting unemployment benefits?”
- QA 11: “Can I collect Unemployment Insurance benefits at the same time I am pursuing a claim for Workers Compensation benefits?”
- QA 12: “For my appeal of a denial of unemployment benefits, should I point out that I am receiving COBRA subsidy, which makes no sense?”
- QA 13: “I have an Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing coming up. What do I do?”
- QA 14: “If my company is sold, can I collect unemployment insurance benefits?”
- QA 15: “Is it true church employees don’t get unemployment benefits?”
- QA 16: “How do I resign and still get unemployment benefits?”
- QA 17: “I must take care of my sick child; can I get unemployment?”
- QA 18: “If I don’t like my new job, can I go back on unemployment?”
- QA 19: “Resigned due to stress, overwork and burn out. Can I get unemployment?”
- QA 20: “Insulted, overworked, and benefits taken away– can I get unemployment?”
- QA 21: “Stress from work is killing me. Please help!!”
V. Overtime, Commissions and Unpaid Wages
"Creditors have better memories than debtors."
James Howell, Author
- NL 1: Commissions: What Happens When You Leave?
- NL 2: Overtime Pay: 80% of American Employees are Entitled. Are you?
- NL 3: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 1: “Is weekend travel time of an hourly employee compensable?”
- QA 2: “If my friend is not getting paid what was promised in her offer letter, does she have any way to correct this?”
- QA 3: “What recourse do we have after our employer has reduced salaries 10% across the board?”
- QA 4: “How can I collect commissions due me from my former employer and still get a good job reference?”
- QA 5: “Am I entitled to commissions on sales that took place before I was fired, even though they were not yet delivered?”
- QA 6: “Can my boss tell me I have to renegotiate signed customer contracts, or suffer lower commissions if I can’t?”
- QA 7: “Can my employer change our commission plan any time it wants to?”
- QA 8: “Can an employer change the time commissions are earned and paid?”
- QA 9: “Commission and Sales Bonus Plans: Read them or it will cost you.”
- QA 10: “Laptop missing before I left my former job. Am I responsible?”
- QA 11: “Can I be forced to repay commissions I never received?”
- QA 12: “If I am terminated for cause, can accumulated leave time and comp time be denied me?”
- QA 13: “Why is it acceptable to expect someone to work 60 to 70 hours a week?”
- QA 14: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
W. Employment Info and Insight
"You, yourself, must make the effort. The Buddhas are only teachers."
Buddhist Proverb
- NL 1: Hey, It’s January: Time to Prepare Your Yearly “QVPTM Plan” [Part One of Two]
- NL 2: Hey, It’s January: Time to Prepare Your 2005 Yearly “QVP™ Plan” [Second of Two Parts]
- NL 3: “Chief Continuity Officer” – Titles Reflect the Times, and So Much More
- NL 4: Will Wall Street Careers Ever Again Seem as Attractive as Billions in Bonuses “Evaporate?”
- NL 5: Want to See Your HR File? Here’s How
- NL 6: “Who Owns The ‘Creative Things’ You Produce At Work?”
- NL 7: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 1: Which Labor Law – State or Federal – Applies?
- QA 2: “Injured while skiing at a Company Conference – Am I Eligible for Workers’ Compensation? What should I do?”
- QA 3: “Two Jobs Combined into One: Is that Legal?”
- QA 4: “Two questions about what happens when an employer declares bankruptcy – one from Oregon (U.S.), one from Ontario (Canada)”
- QA 5: Employee or Contractor: Do I Have a Choice?
- QA 6: Employment Living Restrictions: Must they be uniformly applied?
- QA 7: “Do employees have a ‘Right to Quit’?”
- QA 8: “Is it an invasion of privacy if incidents involving employees are reported company-wide, including employees’ names?”
- QA 9: “If I’m ‘at will’ and therefore can leave my job whenever I want to, what effect does that have on an agreement I signed that I would repay monies if I left before 12 months?”
- QA 10: “Does federal law give me a right to send out resumes while working for my employer?”
- QA 11: “Can an employer require that you state your intentions about whether you will stay with the company?”
- QA 12: “Can my employer change its attendance policy any way it wants to?”
- QA 13: “Does a former employee have a legal right to see her former employer’s Employee Handbook?”
- QA 14: “Can my former employer claim to be the author of a magazine article I wrote as part my duties?”
- QA 15: “Can an employer require you get its prior approval for a side job or a side business?”
- QA 16: “Is it a conflict of interest if I work in the same place as my son, and I cover a shift for him?
- QA 17: “Do I have any recourse if my job responsibilities, and income, are taken from me without notice?”
- QA 18: “Can I be forced to take a flu shot or lose my hospital job?”
- QA 19: “How long do employers have to retain personnel records to make them available to ex-employees in Massachusetts?”
- QA 20: “Can I get fired for refusing to work on the weekends?”
- QA 21: “I have a question about your recent post about New Jersey employees’ rights to copy company documents without being fired for it in retaliation.”
- QA 22: “Can you suggest my next career step and the next ‘hot’ industry?”
- QA 23: “What should I expect after ‘re-badging?’”
- QA 24: “Can I trust Human Resources to keep things confidential?”
- QA 25: “Is it discrimination when a boss favors an employee he is dating?”
- QA 26: “My new job is not the promised job. What do I do?”
- QA 27: “Can my employer simply reduce compensation promised in my offer letter?”
- QA 28: “Does an independent contractor have a duty of loyalty?”
- QA 29: “Should a young professional who likes his job change jobs for 50% more pay?”
- QA 30: “Is there a problem giving a returning employee his former ID number?”
- QA 31: “Can an employer dictate who an employee can and can’t speak with?”
- QA 32: “Can taking time off without permission get you fired?”
- QA 33: “Can my employer refuse to let me resign?”
- QA 34: Where can I find “niches” to further my career?
- QA 35: “How should an employer treat an employee who works for a competitor?”
- QA 36: “Why is it acceptable to expect someone to work 60 to 70 hours a week?”
- QA 37: “Do employees have a right of free speech?”
- QA 38: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
X. Inspiration, Encouragement, Motivation
"Do not cross this field unless you can do it in 9 seconds.
The bull can do it in 10."
- Sign in a Farmer’s Field
- NL 1: When Office-Negotiating, Put the “Power of Purpose” in Your Pocket
- NL 2: The Surprising Power of Simple Appreciation – A Negotiator’s Secret
- QA 1: Where can I learn to appear more confident?
- QA 2: “Is there ‘life’ beyond a horrible firing?”
- QA 3: “Toxic boss and environment caused us all to quit. Now what do we do?”
- QA 4: “Do you think that employers are targeting older workers for layoffs and Performance Improvement Plans?”
- QA 5: “My job is definitely ‘The Job from Hell.’ Any ideas?”
- QA 6: “My former employer has literally destroyed me. What can I do?”
- QA 7: “I fear the consequences of filing a complaint; any suggestions?”
- QA 8: “Am I all washed up?”
- QA 9: “Nine Paths to Locating Internships”
- QA 10: “Can I use my severance to get a ‘bridge to retirement?’”
Y. How to Deal with Attorneys
"A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge."
Unknown
- NL 1: What to Do if a Former Employer Has Defamed You
- NL 2: Your Legal Fees in Employment Matters: Here’s How to Get Your Employer to Pay Them
- NL 3: Can You Share Company Secrets With Your Lawyer?
- NL 4: Don’t Be Hoodwinked by The “Whereas Clauses” in Agreements
- NL 5: Clawback – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 6: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
- NL 7: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 1: Angry, Hostile Attorney for Boss – Any Recourse?
- QA 2: “I’m a Union Member – Can I use a private Attorney to help me with a Problem?”
- QA 3: “To Negotiate my Employment Contract, Should I Hire an Attorney to Help Me?”
- QA 4: “Should I bring someone with me to a meeting about a Performance Improvement Plan (‘PIP’)?”
- QA 5: “If I think my termination might have been related to my age, should I consult with an attorney?”
- QA 6: “If I retained an attorney to represent me in negotiation, but not in litigation, would that include mediation?”
- QA 7: “How do I pick a good employment attorney to represent me?”
- QA 8: “If a firm was representing me in my case against my employer and was also doing work for my employer, is that a ‘conflict of interest’?”
- QA 9: “How can I stop my resume from being used for unauthorized purposes?”
- QA 10: “Do I have a right to have an independent person accompany me to a performance review meeting?”
- QA 11: “Any ideas on how to deal with a recruiter who seems to be sabotaging my job search?”
- QA 12: “How do I find an attorney to determine the right jurisdiction for a claim?”
- QA 13: “Should I replace my employment attorney?”
- QA 14: “Did my attorney charge me an unfair fee?”
- QA 15: “Will using an attorney to negotiate make things worse?”
- QA 16: “How do I collect bonus and severance due from my bankrupt employer?”
- QA 17: “Who pays the cost of a lawsuit – attorney or client?”
- QA 18: “In what country should I start my lawsuit?”
- QA 19: “What’s better – asking for more severance without an attorney, or with one?”
- QA 20: “Seven Good Reasons ‘PIP-Pushback’ should not be by an Attorney”
- QA 21: “What can I do if I feel my lawyer overcharged me?”
- QA 22: “Is it a conflict of interest for my attorney, during my case, to go to work for the other side’s law firm?”
- QA 23: “Can an attorney refuse to finish my case because it is more difficult then he thought?”
- QA 24: “My husband was fired – falsely – for theft. Should he consult an attorney?”
- QA 25: “How to File a Federal Lawsuit without an Attorney”
- QA 26: Clawback – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 27: Recoupable – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 28: Fiduciary – Key Words & Phrases
- QA 29: “Work in New Jersey; employer in Massachusetts. Which state’s lawyers can help me?”
Z. Going Out on Your Own
"Always remember that this whole thing started with a mouse."
- Walt Disney, Founder of Disney Movies and Cartoons
- NL 1: Navigating Yourself to Self-Employment: “Your 10 Critical Steps to Going Out on Your Own”
- NL 2: When Leaving Your Job, How to Take Your Colleagues With You
- QA 1: “Limited Liability Company or Liability Insurance: Which is Better for a New Company?”
- QA 2: “Before leaving my job to open my own business, can I contact the clients to let them know?”
- QA 3: “I’m thinking of leaving my job, and going freelance. What do you think?”
- QA 4: “Can I compete with my former employer without getting sued?”
- QA 5: “What share should I ask for as a new firm partner?”
- QA 6: “How can I negotiate more equity in a start-up venture?”
- QA 7: Where can I find “niches” to further my career?
