Resignation vs. Firing?

[gutman04]

North Carolina

I was recently given a choice to accept a sales position making $10-15,000 less or be terminated at the end of April. Having no desire to do sales, I declined the job & agreed verbally with the President of the company that I would be paid through May 4. We agreed to get this in writing, but he never supplied it after asking twice.

About 15 minutes after our verbal agreement, he pulled me aside & said if I said one negative word about the company, he would null & void our verbal agreement. He also strongly discouraged me from trying to collect Unemployment.

At my exit interview, my employer (the GM, not the President b/c he accepted a severance package) asked me to sign a resignation letter which I refused to sign b/c I did not resign from the company. He subsequently told me things would get ugly with HR from the corporate office b/c I did not sign this letter & that I was "getting what I wanted anyway so why not just sign the letter."

I feel as if I was intimidated & they tried to force me into resigning so they wouldn't have to pay me Unemployment. What kind of recourse do I have?

 

[LisaB0310]

You do not have to sign anything. If he forces you...before he even thinks about it. Write something quickly, like "I did not type this letter, but being forced to sign"--then sign your name.....I did the same in a similar situation and it was positive. Good luck and I would be interested in hearing the outcome. [email protected]

Lisa

 

[wachapp]

I have over 15 years in Unemployment not in your state but
here is what is crutial in your case. No 1 the employer approached you. In the UC game who make the approach is very important. No 2 did you really have a choice? No. Signing a resignation is of no consequence. It could be argued that the employer laid you off due to no work because they changed your hiring agreement. If you had consented to the change that would be a different matter, you'd still be employed that is until you failed to meet quota. In either case you could sucessfully claim UC. Go to your Local Office and file. You may have to have an appeal but they fired you and you should be eligible.

Some state have laws on unlawful discharge. Check with your Attorney General

 

[mary ray]

I agree with wachapp. Go immediately and file for u/c. They may contest it but ultimately you'll prevail.