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May 2015 Moms
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Laid-off at 36 weeks

m247jrm247jr member
in May 2015 Moms
I lost my job today as part of a staff reduction/down sizing. I'm exactly 4 weeks and 1 day shy of my due date, so the timing really couldn't be much worse.

Has anyone else been through this? Or know someone who has? Any words of support or advice would be much appreciated. It's been a rough day :(
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Re: Laid-off at 36 weeks

  • Bmore112Bmore112 member
    Omg I am so sorry. On the bright side, more time with lo
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  • saric83saric83 member
    This happened to a few of my co-workers in the past couple of months.  The best advice they had when I thought I was at risk too was to start the paperwork for unemployment ASAP and update your resume and LinkedIn now before you're completely sleep-deprived. :)  Hopefully, you got some kind of severance!  

    I started planning for this when rumors of lay-offs came through my company last month, and the biggest thing I did was to research different contracting firms, so when I was ready, I could just jump into something temporary instead of feeling pressured to find THE job coming off of maternity leave. 

    Good luck!!
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  • hannahwilderrhannahwilderr member
    I am in the exact same boat. At 34 weeks I was told my contract would not be renewed due to "fiscal responsibilities within the company." No HR representative there. And someone made a comment like, "Well you're going to have your hands full anyway." UM DO NOT USE MY CHILD AS A REASON WHY I SHOULD BE HAPPY I AM LOSING MY JOB. I go on short-term disability soon. Then I am going to ride out the rest of my contract. Finally, I am going to file for unemployment in the fall. Meanwhile, DH working so hard to find a position that affords us the opportunity for me to stay at home (which honestly, I would love). So I am totally in the same boat as you. It sucks. It's embarrassing. It's hard having the choice taken away from you whether or not you return to work. I hope you have someone that you can hug for a long time and cry on their shoulder if you need to. Gotta let out all the aggravation and anger. It's not good for the baby.  CHIN UP, BUTTERCUP. You're not alone. 
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  • Sam2552Sam2552 member
    Personally I would have loved to have been laid off. Instead I will be 35 weeks tomorrow. Doctors pulled me out of work due to health problems yesterday. I won't be getting maternity pay or anything.. so unemployment benefits look pretty good to me right now. :-/ At least you have a bright side compared to me. I would do the same thing though as mentioned above. Get your resume out and about as soon as you can. Life really sucks sometimes.
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  • mamajama3mamajama3 member
    That's such malarkey- I am so sorry :(. Companies are soulless, I swear.
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  • m247jrm247jr member
    Sam, that's so terrible! Hang in there!
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  • marym94marym94 member
    im so so sorry for your news... i just wanted to say sending positive vibes your way!
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  • ellekruellekru member
    Isn't there some sort of law to protect pregnant women from getting laid off of their jobs? May sound naive but I could have sworn that was a thing! (Not talking about FMLA)
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  • MrsWhiteToBeMrsWhiteToBe member
    Yeah check with a lawyer just to see if you might have a case. Or can at least qualify for some other programs
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  • mnbandomnbando member
    Look into the unemployment rules because you have to be willing to work to collect unemployment (which you likely won't be able to for 6 weeks). sorry for the crappy situation :(
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  • bean8213bean8213 member
    ellekru said:

    Isn't there some sort of law to protect pregnant women from getting laid off of their jobs? May sound naive but I could have sworn that was a thing! (Not talking about FMLA)

    There is protection so that you can't be fired BECAUSE you're pregnant. If the company was doing general layoffs and she happened to fall within the laid off group, that's totally legal. Being pregnant doesn't automatically protect your job in a mass layoff situation.
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  • klaG101klaG101 member
    When I had my daughter my husband got laid off for a while. It sucked as he was the bread winner and I only had a little bit of PTO saved up. It made things so much more stressful than it had to be. But just take a breath, and get signed up for unemployment and look into WIC, and depending on your situation maybe even food stamps. Don't be scared to ask for help. Sending lots of love and prayers to you! I liked the suggestion of starting to work on your resume and LinkedIn stuff now before baby comes too.
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  • ellekruellekru member
    bean8213 said:

    ellekru said:

    Isn't there some sort of law to protect pregnant women from getting laid off of their jobs? May sound naive but I could have sworn that was a thing! (Not talking about FMLA)

    There is protection so that you can't be fired BECAUSE you're pregnant. If the company was doing general layoffs and she happened to fall within the laid off group, that's totally legal. Being pregnant doesn't automatically protect your job in a mass layoff situation.
    Thanks for clarifying that for me ;)
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  • stark01938209stark01938209 member
    That sucks. Agree with everyone else. Definitely take advantage of WIC, unemployment, Medicaid, even food stamps (a bit harder to qualify for- but may be applicable). You are the reason I don't mind being taxed for these programs. I was on the first three as an unemployed grad student when my first was born. Don't be too prideful- we'll spend the rest of our lives paying into these programs. I would start applying within the week- for sure! I know it doesn't help now- but things happen for a reason. Now I have a job I really love and couldn't be happier. Make the best of it!
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  • Knottie54288128Knottie54288128 member
    stark01938209 said:

    That sucks. Agree with everyone else. Definitely take advantage of WIC, unemployment, Medicaid, even food stamps (a bit harder to qualify for- but may be applicable). You are the reason I don't mind being taxed for these programs. I was on the first three as an unemployed grad student when my first was born. Don't be too prideful- we'll spend the rest of our lives paying into these programs. I would start applying within the week- for sure! I know it doesn't help now- but things happen for a reason. Now I have a job I really love and couldn't be happier. Make the best of it!

    Agreed, I've worked since I was 15. I'll pay these taxes forever. I didn't mind taking the unemployment or the WIC.
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