Are you the suspect in your missing job?
In 2014, the movie “Gone Girl” hit the screens. On her fifth wedding anniversary, the beautiful wife just disappeared, kind of like your job, right? Her husband became the prime suspect. I’ll bet you know how that feels. So while Nick Dunne (the husband in “Gone Girl”) gets nothing but grief about the disappearance of Amy, at least maybe you get some severance pay.
If severance pay is not in the cards for you, then it may be straight to the unemployment roles, or maybe not if you were discharged for cause (‘cause you were being stupid?) Barring bad behavior, severance pay can ease the transition from working to unemployment, and be an incentive for leaving quietly without incident (spelled “law-suit”).
Severance pay is a matter of policy or an HR decision, not a matter of law. There is no legal requirement that a company make a severance payment except in certain circumstances (see the WARN act https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/warn). Check the employee handbook or your employment contract from when you joined the company. If it says you get it, you’re golden.
Health insurance can go with you for a period, but it may be expensive. COBRA rules allow you to continue your health insurance for a period after your departure at your own expense. If you made contributions from your paychecks to retirement accounts like a 401(k), that goes with you as well, but the company’s contribution is dependent on the vesting schedule for the plan. Plan on rolling any retirement to an IRA rather than taking it to sustain yourself because a premature distribution (before age 59.5) can cost 10 to 40 percent in income taxes and penalties.
So now the big question … “What’s next?” You might go into business for yourself and not even know it. Uber? Doordash? Amazon or Federal Express delivery? The next boy band? You may have to think outside the paycheck. Got questions? CentralOffice has answers. https://www.central-office-online.com/ .