I was just informed that I was the only one in my team to be impacted by the Reduction In Force (RIF) exercise and I want to know if I have a case against my employer based on the following facts:
- My company just recently got acquired by a bigger company and so I was told that based on "an assessment of the current and projected business needs" that they "do not foresee a long term requirement" for my role.
- My manager (Director) and my Sr. Director were the ones that informed me that I was being let go and said they had no say in the decision at all and that the acquiring company made the call.
- My team is very small (four of us - Sr. Director, my boss (director), me (manger title) and my colleague (sr. analyst) and I was the only one to be let go despite the fact that the other colleague of mine (1) has the exact same system job title and (2) the same grade (but earning a lower salary) as I am and (3) is a poorer performer than I am.
- To add to the complexity of this whole situation, I'm 2 months pregnant. I didn't tell my boss about yet as I was waiting till the 3rd month but I have no way of knowing if they access my system to (1) see the websites I was surfing (pregnancy sites) (2) see that I had ultrasound & doctor's visits under my calendar of events.
- (1) I asked specifically if they were letting me go because it was a performance issue and they said no and reassured me that I have done an excellent job. (2) I also asked if they were letting me go if I had refused to take on a regional role and they said no. (3) I asked if I was being let go over my colleague because I was earning more money than my colleague since it might be a cost issue and they said no.
- So I asked what could be the possible reason I was being let go and I was told that they think that the decision was made based on a "skill set" issue where I was let go because I have a higher skill set compared to my colleague as I am performing at a managerial level and she was kept because she performs non critical, repetitive, simple tasks.
- I have always been assigned to the more complex project work because when there is an important project that can't afford mistakes - they trust me to take care of these tasks. In contrast, I am asked to check my colleague's work and I consistently find mistakes in her work.
- I have documentation to show that I am consistently a higher performer than my colleague however I am the one being let go.
I am California and I am uncertain of the law. I know my company is an "at will" employer and so that means they can technically let go of me for no reason at all but given the facts of my case, do you think I will stand a chance against my employer since there was no proper justification provided to me and I feel that the poorer performer was kept over me & I'm pregnant?
What further questions do you recommend I ask my employer to solidify my case since nothing was provided to me black and white and everything was told to me verbally?
Thank you for your help!
- My company just recently got acquired by a bigger company and so I was told that based on "an assessment of the current and projected business needs" that they "do not foresee a long term requirement" for my role.
- My manager (Director) and my Sr. Director were the ones that informed me that I was being let go and said they had no say in the decision at all and that the acquiring company made the call.
- My team is very small (four of us - Sr. Director, my boss (director), me (manger title) and my colleague (sr. analyst) and I was the only one to be let go despite the fact that the other colleague of mine (1) has the exact same system job title and (2) the same grade (but earning a lower salary) as I am and (3) is a poorer performer than I am.
- To add to the complexity of this whole situation, I'm 2 months pregnant. I didn't tell my boss about yet as I was waiting till the 3rd month but I have no way of knowing if they access my system to (1) see the websites I was surfing (pregnancy sites) (2) see that I had ultrasound & doctor's visits under my calendar of events.
- (1) I asked specifically if they were letting me go because it was a performance issue and they said no and reassured me that I have done an excellent job. (2) I also asked if they were letting me go if I had refused to take on a regional role and they said no. (3) I asked if I was being let go over my colleague because I was earning more money than my colleague since it might be a cost issue and they said no.
- So I asked what could be the possible reason I was being let go and I was told that they think that the decision was made based on a "skill set" issue where I was let go because I have a higher skill set compared to my colleague as I am performing at a managerial level and she was kept because she performs non critical, repetitive, simple tasks.
- I have always been assigned to the more complex project work because when there is an important project that can't afford mistakes - they trust me to take care of these tasks. In contrast, I am asked to check my colleague's work and I consistently find mistakes in her work.
- I have documentation to show that I am consistently a higher performer than my colleague however I am the one being let go.
I am California and I am uncertain of the law. I know my company is an "at will" employer and so that means they can technically let go of me for no reason at all but given the facts of my case, do you think I will stand a chance against my employer since there was no proper justification provided to me and I feel that the poorer performer was kept over me & I'm pregnant?
What further questions do you recommend I ask my employer to solidify my case since nothing was provided to me black and white and everything was told to me verbally?
Thank you for your help!
