Looking for Work Advise

[sandra-leigh]

The company is not going to fire you because you are too old. They are looking at the bottom line and if a younger person seems more productive, that's the direction they will take.

Some people do get fired based on age. Sometimes it is even completely legal, even in places that are not "right to work". For example, in Canada, high court cases have ruled that age-based mandatory retirement of university professors is legal.

With respect to "bottom line", what has to be calculated is not just "Are you more productive / better at producing ideas than recent grads", but "Are you more productive / better at producing ideas than as many recent grads together as could be bought with the higher salary you are being paid?".

(If your company happens to be contracting out work to India and the like for cost reasons, then you should certainly expect that you too are being examined on a "What could we get for that money?" basis.)

[Tracii G]

Take some FMLA time and explain you are have a stress related breakdown due to work situations.
Once on FMLA they cannot fire you and you will still be paid.Not your full pay but that will be enough to get by until you find another job.
You will have to go to a Dr and be evaluated but it sounds like you are having stress issues and you need to go to a Dr seriously.
Its for your own health and well being.
I have worked with people going thru the same thing so go see a Dr and discuss this with HR pronto.
The Company is messing around with you and looking for a way to dismiss you because of your age and this is the only legal way they can do this with out it being called age discrimination. Going in enfemme will be considered a disruption in the work place and will get you fired I'm sure.Not a good idea.
Get legal help too now is the time I'm serious.

[docrobbysherry]

Do NOT show up dressed, for all good reasons listed above.

Do NOT listen to any of the "legal" advice listed above. We do not know enuff about u or the details of your situation to give u any useful advice.

U can talk to an experienced labor attorney if u like. But, why? U haven't a legal reason to see one yet. Unless u wish him/her to speculate about what u MITE do if such and such DID happen?

I think your money would be better spent on a good therapist! U could discuss all your worries openly and he/she mite give u some useful direction/options!

[sandra-leigh]

Once on FMLA they cannot fire you and you will still be paid.

When I search about FMLA, I consistently find it described as being for unpaid leave, a maximum of 12 weeks in most cases ??

We do not have FMLA as such in Canada, but there are labour laws having to do with medical leave. One of my relatives here was fired while on medical leave; it isn't supposed to happen, but as hinted at by one of the previous posters, if it does happen you pretty much have to start legal action to get paid for the time until you would have gone back to work. (The actual procedure in Canada is quasi-judicial rather than judicial, and you do not need a lawyer, but using an experienced labour lawyer helps a fair bit.) If I interpret correctly, in the case of my relative, going through the system got the "firing" removed from their record, got some back pay, and gave enough time for my relative to apply for disability pay. But my relative is still out of a job... and wouldn't have wanted to work there anyhow, after the way they were treated.