Legal Question in Employment Law in New York
Abashed by the fall- out on me from the Sept.11,horror.
To the LawGuru's:
In the grand scheme of life I should be thanking my Higher-Power that someone I love,or myself did not fall victim to the evil of Sept.11,2001.However,I have been inpacted by these events and need legal advice.
I have worked for a major corp.for almost thirty years. I am middle management and I enjoy a very good reputation in the company.Last year I underwent treatment for breast cancer,which so-far has proved successful. I was out of work for almost four months though,under doctors advice.During that year,the company,(which has had financial problems for a number of year)was taken over by another company and Oct 5,was the day the employees of my company were to be rehired by the new corp.Because of the events of Sept.11th,the new owners are laying off 10,000 of their own employee's and are not expected to hire many of us.We have heard rumours that we will not receive our retirement benefits and that our medical benefits will also be terminated.The impact on my finances because of my illness has left me broke;I cannot even afford an aol account and a friend is allowing me to use her account to e-mail you.
What should I do?. Do I need a lawyer?
Hope you can help,
Sincerely,
Broke but alive and grateful
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Abashed by the fall- out on me from the Sept.11,horror.
Amen, Sister or Brother. I was at Ground Zero for one night only, feeding the troops. Nothing that was photographed can do it justice.
I think you may well have your pension vested and there is nothing to worry about on that score.....you can check on your OLD company's plan either with the company if it is still in existence or with the U.S. Dept. of Labor Pension unit in Washington DC. See their website, from your friend's computer. If you cannot find it put the name into GOOGLE or use www.FirstGov.com, the new US Govt. portal.
As to the hiring, hey, if they are laying off ten thousand of their own employees, and there was no requirement in the acquisition or merger to dovetail the workers by seniority, then I cannot think of anything for you unless they systematically lay off older people and keep younger ones. Most companies are not that stupid. I wish you luck but it is a much better deal to be alive and unemployed than dead from being on the job. Ask the 6.000+ who were at their desks and in the halls on Sept. 11th. It places law in proper perspective.
Re: Abashed by the fall- out on me from the Sept.11,horror.
No one can take away your vested pension benefits. They are protected by a federal statute called ERISA. 401(k)s and other self-pay plans are similarly protected.
As for health benefits, under another federal statute called COBRA, if you are laid off, the company is required to offer you the same benefit package you had before (I think for 9 months), with the catch that you have to pay for it.
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