So, I just got fired. Two days shy of my four year anniversary, I was fired from a leadership position at my company.
The reason? We added another facility within the last year in another state and the owner of the company wants my department moved there because he feels like there's a “disconnect”.
He wants to keep me on for two weeks-ish to train a replacement in this other state, after which I'll be paid one month severance at my usual rate.
Here's some more context, though: the owner of this company has a history of problematic behavior including racist comments made on the company Slack, comments about women, comments about people of color. Multiple people have experienced his behavior. I am one of the only women in a leadership position and I'm being replaced by a white man.
Even more context: the company owner is a giant loose cannon and has been known to lay people off (often prominent employees that are experts at their job that challenge his insane “whims”). Seriously, any review site about this company is a complete mess.
Here are the things that I need some advice on:
– I was told that I could take a demotion with a pay cut, but it's insinuated that it would be a temp (six month) position, starting the day after my last day in leadership.
– I am not sure yet if I will receive PTO (it's supposed to reset on my anniversary if I'm an hourly employee; I currently have unlimited PTO).
– I'm also told that there's no job security in this position (I live in at at-will state and this job can easily be impacted by a recession, which the news makes it look like we're gravitating to).
– I'm ALSO told that if the new hire replacing me asks questions regarding my leadership position, I'll be expected to answer/assist, though it won't be my primary duty.
– I will be able to work from home, which eliminates a three hour round trip to/from work and means I could potentially apply for things during downtime on the clock.
My current questions are:
In an at-will state, will I receive unemployment if I accept the severance? What if I get this offer in writing?
If I accept the demotion, is there any way to protect myself from being let go one month in? Is there any way to ensure that if I receive my PTO and I'm let go at any time that I'll receive payout for these days?
Do I have any legal recourse regarding his problematic behavior?
I'm really at a loss. I never felt secure job-wise here and have been seeking other opportunities because of the owner's problematic behavior, but I haven't had a lot of luck because I live in a rural area/people just aren't hiring/no broadband internet eliminates me from WFH opportunities.
This man has done enough damage, what do I need to do to not get screwed?
I also tried to post this last night without realizing Reddit was down and I think it ate the post. :/