Falsely "laid off"

[Fischtik]

I was just "laid off" for what they called "work force reduction." I know for a fact that while I was still employed they were looking to hire one or two new employees. I had the most seniority in the whole division, I was part of a company wide safety committee, and I was filling in for a guy in another department for a week while he was on vacation. Is there anything wrong with what they did? Is there anything I can do about it?

 

[de_novo]

While there are certainly things wrong with what the company did in the eyes of the employee, they didn't do anything wrong in the eyes of the law. Especially in tough economic times like these, companies will lay off higher, more experienced workers and replace them with cheaper labor to cut their bottom line. The most important thing you can do now is file for unemployment compensation benefits. As a worker described as laid off, you immediately qualify and the employer should not dispute the claim at all.