Hello,

I recently lost my job & was offered a severance based on salary, age, and years of service.

Initially, I worked for this company for around 6 years & left for another opportunity. They contacted me after around 18 months & lured me back. Since that time, I have worked there for around 5 years.

When I was rehired by the company, I was told by a human resources member that I would keep my seniority for everything except vacation. Now they are not counting my previous employment for seniority in calculation of severance. The only thing I have on paper reads "As a rehire, your service date will be adjusted (total years service less the time you were gone) for pension plan and 401(k) purposes." and the HR representative I negotiated with has since left the company.

I'm guessing I'm out of luck & I'm not really too concerned about it, but I'd like to know if the verbal agreement they made with me is binding?

I don't plan on using all of the severance, but I have several friends still working at this company that have a similar work history. As the company is on a major downward slide, I'd hate to set a precedence that could affect others in the future.

Thanks for any advice.

You'll have to speak to an attorney in your state about how binding the agreement might be, but I think you'll have to agree that if the manager that made the agreement with you isn't there to back it up, you've got only a he-said, she-said with regards to proving that s/he made that statement at all.

I agree. Since I know that I'm telling the truth, it all seems a bit silly to me. I don't believe that they are required to even give me a severance by law.

I guess that I'll need to decide if it's worth any more trouble. I'm pretty sure just speaking about this with an attorney will cost a couple of hundred & I'm not sure how to find one skilled in this area for Indiana. In any case, thanks for your comments.

You are correct that under the law they are not required to provide you with any severance, unless provided by contract. What no one here can tell you is whether or not such a contract exists. But to that end, the issue is less what the HR manager told you, and more whether there is any contract of severance to begin with. If no contract for severance exists, then it's irrelevant that you were told your gap in employment would be bridged, because there's nothing to bridge.

What no one here can tell you is whether or not such a contract exists.

Since when I was rehired I wasn't told (neither verbal nor written) there would be a severance, no contract exists.

I'm taking the severance offer.

It's funny, but I've already been contacted by the company about an opening in February. Maybe I'll get to voice my displeasure in the future.

Thanks for your time.