One and two are fine to sign, but never three. I wouldn’t sign one and two, because they sent three.
They’re all OK to sign. But shredding or burning them directly thereafter would be prudent.
Jumping on the “don’t sign anything” bandwagon. The only reason I can see that the company would need those forms signed would be if they end up in a legal battle with, well, you. Even if you don’t plan to initiate one, there’s always that tiny chance they’ll initiate one with you, in which case you don’t want to give them any ammunition.
Job abandonment? I thought that was when you just stop showing up without letting anyone know you quit.
Were they really expecting you give a 2 weeks notice after being there only 2 days? Most companies, if you gave them a 2 weeks notice after being there 2 days, would probably tell you to go ahead and leave now anyways.
I really don’t know…it’s just called “Employee Termination Form.” Maybe to elaborate on my reasons for leaving? 
This was my thought.
Not that it’s germane to my original question but I guess I can elaborate now…
I had been employed for 2 1/2 years when the business I worked at (a casino) shut down. I went on unemployment for a month and after having been warned over and over from former employees to not even bother, even as a last resort, it was close to my house, I knew a couple of people there, I had tried other industries, and I had been turned down from the places I wanted to get into. So I took the job.
Lets just say it might be in for a rough time when on your FIRST DAY, another employee asks you, “You realize management here treats the employees like shit, don’t you?” I responded that I had heard. He said…“Good.” Not to mention that when I eventually quit, no less than 3 people I had just met congratulated me on finding another job and getting out of there already. Not a very ringing endorsement.
Honestly, I DID feel really bad about leaving so soon. They offered me a job when nobody else would…at least until my current employer reconsidered (they decided to expand so they called me back). I left as amicably as I think I possibly could have given the situation, evidently they weren’t interested in the same.
Oh well. I love where I am now. Haven’t regretted leaving for a second. 
Well the REALLY funny part was that I was still “on call.” How does an “on call” person give 2 weeks notice? What would my two weeks have consisted of? Sitting at home? There were 5-6 other “on call” employees, are they honestly going to call in someone who’s already stated their intention to quit and move to another company? :dubious:
I guess I’m also looking for confirmation that I handled this as diplomatically as I could. I believe in karma. I don’t like screwing people, I don’t like burning bridges, I don’t like being on bad terms with people. I was sorry I had to leave so soon and I thought I handled it well, which is one thing that really bothers me about the situation.
WAG, the forms are to prevent you from claiming unemployment on the basis of holding the job. Termination for “misconduct” is grounds in my state and I assume any state for an employer to dispute a former employee’s claim. So they want a form signed by you admitting that what you did constitutes “misconduct” to show the unemployment people should you file.
I wouldn’t sign any of the forms. What are they gonna do if you don’t sign, fire you?
Well, I wouldn’t have signed it before, but I really really wouldn’t sign a “termination form.” Your employment wasn’t terminated; you quit. Misconduct is grounds for termination in most cases, so the reference to misconduct and the fact that it’s a “termination” form makes me suspect they want to spin the situation as if they fired you, and for cause. No good can come of such a form.
I agree with everyone who has suggested you not bother sending back anything, but I am curious about one thing. Did they provide you with any training whatsoever?
“Oh, um…there were FORMS in the envelope along with the check? Sorry, I didn’t see them. What did they say?”
While I would probably feel the same way (it is possible to be too nice for your own good), based on what other past and present employees told you, they probably are always hiring people. When you treat your employees like crap, they tend to quit. The fact that they even sent out a survey with question #3 on it makes me think that they deal with lots of ex-employees, on a less then friendly basis. You were doing them as much a favor, by taking the job, as they were offering it to you.
So dump the guilt, destroy the letter and enjoy the new job.
Burn the letters (especially #3), dance on the ashes, and sing “Hallelujah” and otherwise quote Monty Python.
Make a video of all this, post it on YouTube, charge by the view / download, and make more money than the job would have paid!
Don’t sign anything you don’t feel like. Who cares? What are they gonna do?
Don’t respond, and just forget about them.
A) It does you no good to respond
B) It does them no good for you to respond, unless you try for unemployment insurance, which you no longer qualify for anyway, since you have a new most-recent job.
C) Don’t assume the letter means anything at all. Most likely it is from a bundle of stock forms they got from some security expert long ago and never thought about since.
In HR parlance, “termination” means “end of employment.” It doesn’t distinguish between being fired vs voluntarily quitting. A terminated employee is an ex-employee, someone who no longer works at the company, period, however that happened.
An employer trying to make hay out of the form’s being labeled “termination,” without any accompanying adjective like “voluntary” or “involuntary,” would be laughed out of court.
Now, “discharged,” that’s something else.
(I’ve spent a number of years involved with HR issues, many of them in HR positions, in my home state of WA and several others.)
What is this I see? Consensus on the Dope?
Don’t sign or return any of the forms. They should do exit interviewing and form signing before cutting the check. Their loss, your gain.
There’s no way in heck I’d sign any of them. You owe them nothing. Like others said, if you’ve already got the last check, there’s nothing left for you to do.
I, personally, would keep the copies though, just so I had them. If nothing else, they’ll be worth a laugh years later when you’re going through old papers.
This is a very, very hard decision. I think you should read the advice in this thread and weigh the decision carefully, considering all the pros and cons.
Personally, I would shred the forms because I have a confetti shredder conveniently located under my desk, and I don’t want to start a fire in my apartment. But others have made good points - I can see how burning the forms would be exciting and satisfying. This option is certainly not without merit.
I’m guessing the form is some sort of way meant to give them peace of mind you weren’t some mole sent in by a rival company to steal their trade secrets.
Go ahead!! Fess up!! Your are, aren’t you?
I hate to argue with you, but this has not been my experience. Put “terminated employee” in Google and every site is for “terminated” meaning “fired.” Look it up on dictionary.com and the definition that applies to a work scenario means “fired”. (Definition 4: Terminate: to dismiss from a job; fire.) Further, the active nature of “terminated” when applied to the word “employee” implies to me that the employment was ended by someone other than the employee. We can say a terminated employee, or a fired employee, or a sacked employee, but there’s no similar way to say a “quit” employee.
I know that in my field we frequently employ niceties of definition that others don’t bother to employ, but legally there is almost always a different between “terminated” and “resigned.” As so used, “terminated” and “discharged” are synonymous; they both mean “fired.”