I worked for the past 2.75 years and recently was temporarily laid off with no date of recall due to cost saving measures. If I get a freelance/contract position do I need to let my previous employer know? Upon accepting such a position is my former employee obligated to provide some sort of severance since they initiated the layoff? What legal action can I take?

Thank you for your question. The first thing to note is that you likely have the option of treating your temporary layoff as a termination and pursuing severance, unless you have expressly agreed to temporary layoffs as a term of your employment.

If, on the other hand, you do wish to return to your employer at the conclusion of the layoff, it would typically be prudent to let your employer know that you are taking on some temporary work but you are not resigning.

If you are considering treating your employment as terminated, you should consider doing so before obtaining the freelance/contract position. Please contact us at the number below for a consultation, so that we can discuss this in further detail.