Hi Michele,

Thank you for laying out your circumstances so clearly. I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through all of this. Cancer and Careers currently doesn’t have attorneys on staff and the core questions you’re asking – whether to accept termination or resign and the potential long-term implications – are best addressed by someone who has legal expertise. Here are some free resources we recommend:

- Triage Cancer’s Legal & Financial Navigation Program (https://triagecancer.org/legal-and-financial-navigation-program) offers free one-on-one help with disability insurance, employment issues and more. The page linked here has an online form that can complete to request an appointment with one of their staff attorneys.

- The Florida Bar (https://www.floridabar.org/public/lrs/) offers a lawyer referral service that may be able to connect you with an employment attorney.

- Florida Law Help (https://www.floridalawhelp.org/) is a statewide legal aid portal that partners with local legal aid organizations across the Florida. A portion of their website is dedicated to “Jobs & Working.”

- You can also find additional free legal resources listed in Cancer and Careers Online Resource Database (https://www.cancerandcareers.org/resources/categories/legal)

Hopefully, one of these resources will help you find the right support. If you have any additional questions and please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly at cancerandcareers@cew.org or 646-929-8032.

Hi Michele,

Rachel is 100% right you'll want to speak  to a legal expert, I just want to share some additional things to think about/ask when you do.

You have mentioned LTD, which is Long Term Disability, we are assuming here that your LTD is a private insurance that you have access to through your employer. LTD is income replacement not job protection as you are experiencing now. What you didn't mention was whether you are eligible for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and have exhausted it for the current period (FMLA when one is eligible is job protected and health insurance protected leave). So you'll want to have those details ready for any conversation with a lawyer. Additionally, you don't mention any use of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects covered employees from discrimination and may provide access to reasonable accommodations--the latter of which may help a person stay in their role. Even if not relevant to your current work situation, could be very important for the future.

As you prepare to speak to a legal representative, one of the things you'll want to think about are the pros and cons of termination vs resignation. I can't speak to your specific circumstance/your state, etc and i don't know the impact LTD has on the decision--which is why you need speak to an attorney, but often that question rests on the opportunity termination offers for people to apply for unemployment payments and any other "separation benefits" for being laid off, like are they offering severance or health insurance coverage for a period or anything else?

Whereas typically resignation doesn't provide those potentail financial opportunities. That said, for some people resigning is preferable because as they look to future work they may have to fill out static applications that ask if you've ever been terminated and if you don't have the opportunity to explain the answer then it has the potential to hold you back professionally. At different points in time, layoffs have been more common and widespread than not. So the larger landscape we're all operating in may also play into your decision-making.

There is no one right answer for everyone, there is only the best answer for you and your circumstances right now.  

Warmly,
Rebecca

Rebecca V. Nellis, MPP
Executive Director
Cancer and Careers