Well, it looks like Baby is going to get canned—not for another week or two, they’re not crazy enough to fire the copy chief in the midst of issue-closing. But I have gotten increasingly leaden hints from Up Above that the new boss is Not Happy with me, and that my days are numbered. And probably not in the double digits.
Now, it’s been a long time since I’ve collected unemployment: does anyone here know the drill? How much of a percentage of one’s salary do you get? For how long? How much does it cost to COBRA one’s insurance—and I assume that will not include prescriptions?
If you make money freelancing, do you lose your unemployment benefits? Do you still have to report to them weekly with the jobs you appled for circled, like you did back in the '80s?
I mean, I’m still working here, so it’s not like I can call HR and ask . . .
Thanks . . . looks like to get specifics, I’ll have to wait till I actually get canned, and ask HR. Unemployed “through no fault of your own”—that might be a rather gray area. I think it’s no fault of my own, but the new boss sees it differently.
It’s a lot easier than it was in the '80s. For one thing, you phone in every week to collect your check, which arrives in the mail. No more standing in line in the dingy office. I pocketed four-oh-five large a week, which was the upper limit.
Once in a while they call you to come down and fill out a form claiming you’re actually looking for a job. Nothing too onerous.
Don’t know about basic NY unemployment, but I will recommend that you investigate other avenues of getting health insurance. My COBRA was a major rip-off.
I second the recommendation about health insurance. Ours (family of four) was going to jump from about $250 a month to almost $1,000. We opted for a BCBS plan with a reasonable deductible.
What FatBaldGuy said (about your employer). Clearly they don’t understand the value you bring to their business.
Be very careful if you consider other coverage vs. COBRA. Here’s a PDF about protecting your health insurance coverage. Some of the issues regarding continuing coverage and pre-existing conditions are handled at a state level. Some will depend on your next employer’s insurance. This at least gives you a start. It seems to point out pretty clearly when you need to look for state or health-plan specific information.
COBRA just means that you can pay for your insurance through the employer’s group coverage which is usually lower than individual policies. By law, the company is allowed the option of charging an additional “administrative fee” of no more than 2% above the actual cost of your insurance. Rip-off indeed, but it’s not your employer doing it. Sure, you can find cheaper rates, but not with the copays or deducts that you had through your employer.
The biggest cost increase with COBRA is not the “administrative fee,” but the fact that you will now be paying both the employee and employer’s share of the cost, which usually means you will pay at least twice as much as you were before.
Our cobra saved us money. We decided to stick with it rather than go with my new employers health insurance last year and the first month that decision paid off. Eve about 80% of those laid off for cause get that ruling reversed and get their unemployment anyway. Most legitimate employers are willing to let people receive unemployment often in exchange for a promise not to sue for discrimination unless the cause is something like theft or the like.
Crap—a top of $405/week? I’d probably get 1/4 of that if I’m lucky. And they tax your unemployment benefits, which seems hugely unfair (why isn’t anyone lobbying against that?).
Things are bad here—once a week I am hit on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper: “BAD copy editor!” After 7 years of no complaints and good employee reviews. I’m up for a copy chief position at another magazine, but at this point I want to get the hell out of magazine publishing, I am sick to death of it. So I am scrambling, asking friends and colleagues if they know of any openings.
Why did I turn that position as a gun moll down back in the '80s?
Eve May I be the first to say that the new boss has her head up her ass if she’s getting rid of you. But it does sound like you’re ready to go so I guess this could be a blessing in disguise.
I’m sorry I don’t have any advice. Just my hopes that better days are ahead for you. You are, by far, one of the coolest people I’ve never met.
COBRA is expensive. But, check some of your local insurance agencies. Most (State Farm, AmFam) have short term health insurance that is much more affordable. Yeah, it’s short term (I believe the one I used had a limit of 6 months, and cost us something like $180 for threeish months) but it was good for what I needed it for. 'Course, SpouseO and I are young and don’t have any health issues - those with pre-existing conditions or suchlike might find it more difficult. But it’s worth checking into if the COBRA price tag shocks you (it did me).
Sorry you’re in this position, Eve, but maybe it’ll be a good thing. They certainly don’t deserve you anyway.
Thanks—I just wish my blessings would stop wearing disguises. Especially when they come disguised as “a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.”
I just e’d friends at a museum and a stock-photo agency here in NY to see if there are any openings. Looks like I won’t be able to survive on unemployment, that’s for damn sure, and freelancing is too feast-or-famine. I might be able to get insurance as a writer, through mediabistro.com . . .
Yes – the higher your COBRA rate is, the better a deal you were getting from your employer during the whole time you worked there. Hard to call this a rip-off. It certianly can be expensive, though, especially if your employer has good benefits.
I’d also caution you to pay attention to pre-existing condition coverage if you don’t take COBRA, Eve. This is important because once you land at a new job with a new, permanent, insurer, the health insurer can, in some circumstances, refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions if there’s been a break in coverage. If you never have a break in coverage of your condition (if any), then in most circumstances an insurer must allow you to maintain that coverage in their policy.
