Nrdsb4 is exactly right. It is not a law. It is just a policy that many (most?) companies have, to protect themselves against being sued if someone were to give a bad recommendation.
It’s quite easy to talk to previous employers and you can tell from their tone of voice / enthusiasm about the candidate whether their view is “great person - sorry to see her go and I’d hire her again in an instant” or “not a good candidate, stay away from this one.”
I guess I assumed it was law because all the places I have worked instructed me to only give title, start and end dates of employment when called for a reference or to refer people to call HR instead.
Right. It’s their policy, and often a very smart one. But it’s not a law.
I am not going to give legal advice on this thread because it is improper for me to do so, but you are getting some very, very incorrect information. Please have your daughter talk to a lawyer if she is so inclined.
OP, listen to MoWC. She knows what she’s talking about.
Second Maine Longhorn on this one.
Third ML. 
D2 was let go for arbitrary reasons, also MA, also after great reviews and little awards. I think she may have made some rookie mistakes, but I also knew, when she took the job, that this is a company that tends to use up young folks and toss them aside. Some public reviews had indicated little upward mobility, some friends in the industry had confirmed.
I had to treat it as a learning lesson, we want our kids to keep moving forward. Lots and lots of people who end up on top (whatever that means to you,) have rocky early stories.
You don’t want the next possible employers to get the wrong feeling from an open ended, “I was let go.” You can’t lie and say it was a layoff or re-organization. You could consider saying what’s basically true, though we don’t know all the details: I was approved for a two week break for personal reasons, (this doesn’t necessarily imply a mental health issue, you could also say family reasons,) and when I returned, the dept conditions had changed, my role changed, something like that.
Yes, look for a new job now.
And if she does have an ally in the dept, ask about being a future reference. My kid had a team lead who was happy to do this for her, but didn’t get called by the next employer.
I suggest talking to a lawyer, including about the terms of the firing or layoff. In my state, the unemployment insurance laws have been made much more restrictive, so that if the employer categorizes the firing or layoff in certain ways, the former employee will not be able to get unemployment benefits. I think it’s very important to find out whether similar laws exist in your daughter’s state.
So she files for UI and explains carefully. If they reject her, there is usually a 2nd chance where you get to explain in more detail.
My then-husband received unemployment benefits after he was fired in 2009. A year or so later, the state claimed that he had been improperly paid the benefits (approximately $14,000) because the former employer decided at that point to say that the circumstances of the firing were such that he was ineligible. At my insistence, he appealed and hired a lawyer to represent him, and she won the case for him. I think it would be a good idea for the OP’s daughter to find out early on what obstacles might lie in her way.
I am sorry I can’t help with the employment. I am hopefully not thread-jacking to point out that MANY young women have mental problems when on birth control pills and the longer they are on them, the worse it gets.
Please anyone starting on the pill, ask your friends/family to monitor you for depression and /or anxiety.
I was also fired and got UI. (An issue beyond my control.) I was given a choice of resigning vs being fired, checked with my state UI folks and they suggested the firing. Quitting is generally seen as voluntary. There are exceptions, eg, harassment.
Was your D actually out on “disability leave” for the 2 weeks? A determination would have to be made whether what she has constitutes a “disability.” I am pretty sure that for depression it has to be chronic - not short term because of meds.
This little blurb on the ADA might also help her in evaluating her termination:
Wow, there is so much information. Thank you. I.would love to know what is wrong MOWC.
Here is the latest. She went to work today and was immediately sent to HR. They offered her two paths.
2.D2 very unclear about this. It seems some staying at the job and trying to work out difficulties she didn’t even know about. She seemed to think path 2 would be bad for her. Maybe if things did not work out, which would probably be the case if minds were already made, and she would lose all that was offered in path 1.
The HR person she talked to today tried to get in touch with her all day yesterday and into the night. D2 did not respond. Today she was told they were worried about her. Duh. She took two weeks off because of severe depression related to medication which can be factually documented as a side effect. Her job performance was effected before the work release. Ironically, she went on disability to help NOt get fired. Then they fired a person who was previously experiencing depression. And they were worried?! About a law suit.
She is going to be sent all of this info about leaving job in writing . I think she should tell the company that she will sign the paperwork after consulting an employee lawyer. H thinks we should just consult a lawyer and not say anything to the co. Not sure D2 wants to do either.
Why do you think didn’t she respond?
Thinking out loud. Not sure why people feel she needs an attorney. She is young, worked max 9 months, is being offered a generous exit package and no future mention she was forced out. Presumably, she can find other similar work at a comparable salary, this neither bars her from future jobs nor interrupts a long career.
I know you’re worried about whether ADA applies. But what would be the goal of taking a legal stance? To be reinstated? (Unlikely.) To win damages? They can show they offered that 8 weeks salary, which I personally have never seen for 9 months work. If anything, that $ and the consultant to help her transition are more common with a layoff, ime, so “mutual agreement” doesn’t necessarily only mean “fired.” She’s young, doesn’t seem to have been officially declared “disabled” and needing accommodations. I think my main concern would be making sure she is healthy, on a road to that and soon able to move forward, put this behind her.
I agree with lookingforward. Seems like a reasonable severance package. Why did she not respond when HR was trying to get in touch?
I would suspect that if she takes option 1 she waives her right to sue. That’s how my H’s company does it.
I would take option 1 and run. That’s the option they are really offering. They are not really offering her a chance to stay but making option 1 so enticing that she will take that.
This is just my thinking as to how things work at my H’s company. They do not fire people, but make agreements so that they won’t sue when they do (essentially fire them).
As someone who works with patients who have " visible " disabilities everyday , I can tell you that it is very difficult to prove that someone is fired from a job because they are being discriminated against because of a disabling condition , especially one that is short in duration.
Another aside, IMO it’s important not to assume that the depression was caused by the medication. Mental illness often emerges in early adulthood, so it is very difficult to know the cause. That being said, it’s important that she continues treatment in order to have a positive outcome.
And lastly, IMO, your daughter needs to contact HR so that it is not misinterpreted as job abandonment or that she is rejecting their severance offer. Even if she just contacts them to tell them that she’s evaluating their offer.