Indiana Employment Law

[eileenp]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

Is Indiana an "at will" state? If so, is it common for an employer to require a past employee to sign a hold harmless agreement prior to releasing severance pay?

 

[Beth3]

"Is Indiana an "at will" state?" Yes.

"If so, is it common for an employer to require a past employee to sign a hold harmless agreement prior to releasing severance pay?" Yes.

 

[eileenp]

I was a 20 year employee who was terminated for unfounded and unsupported reasons. Should I sign a hold harmless and accept four months pay paid bi-weekly, or should I fight this? I am 62 years old and health insurance is nearly impossible for me to purchase. Also, if a precident had been set by the employer to give other employees warnings or put them on probation, have my rights been violated because they gave me no warnings and never placed me on probation?

 

[Beth3]

I have no idea what you should do because I don't have any idea why you were terminated. Saying you were fired for "unfounded and unsupported reasons" does not mean that the employer has acted unlawfully or that you have any claim against them.

Either post back and briefly explain the circumstances of your separation so someone can offer an opinion, or consult with local counsel.

 

[eileenp]

Four reasons given for firing:

1. I am mad at the company

2. I discussed confidential information with the General Manager. This is information that she had already.

3. Insubordination. I went around our sales manager to the General Manager with a pay and benefit issue.

4. I expected special favors from the corporation because of my length of service.

I also am questioning the issue of not being given any warnings or probationary status.

I was specifically told that my work was in no way a reason for this termination.

 

[Beth3]

There are no laws that compel an employer to have a disciplinary policy, much less a progressive one. They did not have to give you any prior disciplinary notice before terminating you.

So are those things true - at least from the employer's point of view? They don't need to have a reason you agree with in order to terminate your employment. Unless those are pretextual reasons and the REAL reason you were terminated was your age, race, gender, national origin, etc., or in retalliation for exercising a protected right, such as filing a WC claim or taking FMLA leave, then your employer has not acted unlawfully - sign the paper and take the money they're offering.

 

[cbg]

1.) This may or may not be a "good" reason to fire you, but it is not an illegal reason.

2.) The fact that she already had the information does not make it okay for you to discuss confidential information with her.

3.) Insubordination is a valid reason for firing someone. It is often not a good idea to bypass the chain of command.

4.) Whether this is true or not, if the perception is that you expected special favors, then the answer is the same as #1.

Nothing whatsoever in the law requires them to give you any kind of warning or put you on probation before firing you.

Nothing in your post supports any kind of legal claim. The only way you would have any sort of standing to sue the company would be if you could provide valid reasons to believe that your age was a factor in making the decision.

BTW, the company does not HAVE to offer you severance at all, and many companies would not be offering severance to an employee who was fired.