Chokmah Will Rock

Since my former employer (FE from now on) has a collection of incompetents who masquerade as workers, I haven't received any money for four weeks. No severance - even though I signed the paperwork last month. No unemployment benefits. I thought a two to three week wait would make sense so I was patient. I checked my bank account every day. No uptick on my balance. I kept getting these odd small checks for $25 or $39. Apparently, my vacation payout check was miscalculated so these checks were trying to true up what was owed to me. Of course every time I saw them in the mail, I thought they were my severance. That played with my emotions and blood pressure.

Funds were getting low as I entered week four of unemployment so I contacted the Department of Unemployment Assistance. Massachusetts' unemployment rate is 3.5% so I knew they weren't really inundated like back in 2008/2009. The DUA rep told me that my claim was held up because FE had not submitted the requested documentation. Man, I invented new curse words when I heard that bullshit! If I had been exposed to gamma radiation beforehand, Boston would have been leveled. Not only FE dicked me over by laying me off, they weren't doing their due diligence! Which I know shouldn't be a surprise to me since I worked there and had front row seats to the depths of their incompetence. Pissed and panicked, I reached out to the director of my department and my former boss. I asked about my severance as well.  Several hours later, I was informed that nothing is pending them and they submitted paperwork. So, what the actual fuck?

First thing, the next morning I called DUA. I assumed they lied to me to cover a fuck up on their end. I spoke to an amazing representative who explained to me what happened and fixed my unemployment claim. FE submitted BLANK PAPERWORK! BLANK! The representative was so pissed on my behalf, she gave me the name of the person who signed it. I let the department director and former boss know what happened. My boss told me that a lot of blame and stories are going back and forth in the department. Yup, sounds right. The director apologized and told me that my severance should arrive next week.  This breaks the romanticized nostalgia lens I remembered my time at my former employer. FE can stand for former employer or something else from now on.