I caught this little tid-bit the other day: Is Ford’s parting gift to ex-workers ‘cruel joke’?. It seems Ford fired this guy 9 months before his 30th Anniversary with the company–which would have allowed him to retire with full benefits. Instead, he gets a reduced pension and he has to wait 10 years to start drawing on it. Then, to add insult to injury, last week, Ford sent him a congratulatory certificate “recognizing his 30 years of service to Ford”!
He’s already involved in a law suit over his termination. Now, this is how law school changes you… my first thought was, “Can he add an IIED claim?”
(That’s Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress to the non-law-talking-people who read the blog…)
Good idea. I’d say that’s pretty shocking and outrageous behavior on Ford’s part, but I’m sure they’d cover it in court by saying it was just a bureaucratic mistake. Still, if he’s already in litigation, why not?
My first thought was whether Ford might be estopped from denying him his 30-year benefits, since they acknowledged that he was indeed a 30-year employee.
But then again, I particularly like using the word “estopped”…
One thing about the US Government, you can’t be terminated once you reach 18 years service (retirement is at 20) except under disciplinary conditions, and that requires court martial. Non-judicial punishment isn’t enough. NJP is a funny thing, they need to be pretty sure of their legal case in case the accused requests court martial, but at NJP proceedings, evidence doesn’t really matter. If the Commanding Officer decides you’re guilty, you are. Most people realize they are up shit creek without a paddle and are smart enough NOT to ask for the federal offense on their record.