The first week after you're let go
The days after a firing are when the most useful evidence is easiest to keep, and the easiest to lose. Here is what to do, in order.
Day one: before your access ends
If you still have your work email or phone, forward nothing confidential, but do write down the dates of reviews, complaints and conversations while you remember them. Save your own pay stubs and schedules. Take photos of anything posted on a wall that matters.
Don't sign on the spot
A severance agreement almost always asks you to give up your right to sue. You are usually allowed time to consider it, and older workers have a set number of days by law. Say you'd like to read it at home, and then have a lawyer read it too.
Apply for unemployment
Apply in the first week, even if you think you won't qualify. Describe what happened in plain, factual words. If your employer says you quit or were fired for misconduct, you can respond.
Write it all down once
Set aside an hour and write the story from the start: when you were hired, what changed, who said what, and the day it ended. Date it. This page will be the first thing we ask for.
The record you make this week is worth more than the one you try to rebuild in six months.
Then call
Many deadlines start on the day you were fired. Some are short. Even if you're unsure, write to us; the first conversation is free.