Will I Get Fired???

[fireeye1]

ok...thank you for taking the time to read this post......

.....It is a bit long...but please read to the end...I need your advice!!!!

The first part of this post is very relavent to my situation and sheds light on why I have concerns......

To start... ...

When I was first hired by my company they had me fill out a AMEX Corporate Account Application. I had no concerns because I had already had one with my previous employer. As I was at training (4th week with the company) I got a call from my manager and he told me that my intial hiring disclosure mentioned that I needed to be able to obtain a AMEX CC or I could not be employed with them. I was immediately terminated and sent on the next plane ride home. (they did not really follow the "adverse actions procedure" required by the FCRA).

I pleaded with the Senior HR Director to give me 48 hours to find out what was going on. He agreed and told me that if I could rectify the situation they would bring me back retroactive. Well, I found out that my previous employer never closed the account and AMEX just denied the Corporate Card application because it was not closed. I simply closed the old account and they instantly approved me for the new card. YEAH! Now, I called HR and they confirmed that I was approved. However, because the next training was not going to take place for another 2 months they told me that they were goign to hold off on"Re-hiring" me until that time. I really did not like that they did not honor their "Retro" promise, but I had no choice. Nevertheless, I filed unemployment and they hired me back 2 months later.....

...end of story....no not really...

...well after a year with the company....the many debts I had collected over the last couple of years had become so overwelming that we could not pay for them anymore.....we got the calls and letters.....judgements and had no choice but to file Chapter 7. When filing I ONLY included our personal credit card debts (which was about 50K after interest). I did include a "personal" AMEX that we had and was told that my credit report did not show the Corportate Card...thus will not be included in the Bankruptcy.

Now, I had no problem using my AMEX Corp. Card throughout the year and always have kept it on time and paid up. Although my personal finances were in the tank, my business transactions were always in good order.

The Skinny: I offically filed Chapter 7 on 4/21/09.. On 5/1/09 I tried to use my AMEX Corporate Card to pay for a luncheon and it was denied. I immediately called AMEX and found out that they CLOSED the account and sent it to their bankruptcy firm. After talking to the lawyer, they told me that once we filed Chapter 7 it immediately flagged AMEX and they CLOSED all accounts associated with me. I pleaded with them that my job could surely be on the line and they did not assist me in any way.

I called my Bankruptcy Lawyer and he told me to tell my employer what was going on....if they terminated me....then call him back and he would "look into" what position we can take..... sooooooo....

Yesterday, 5/6/09 I decided to send a letter to the Senior Director of HR with my company. I mentioned my Personal Bankruptcy and also mentioned that I would like to find a practical solution for overcoming this obstacle. Surely my company will allow me to use some other form of payment to expense approved items (i.e Visa, Mastercard). I was expecting to hear from them today but have heard NOTHING. I would like to know where I stand and fear that I am going to be terminated (per my past experience).

I understand that a employer can not fire you simply because you filed Personal Bankruptcy, but it would be because AMEX closed my Corp. Card and they could see that as a inability for me to fulfill the functions of my current position.

With all that being said.....

Am I protected at all under the Bankruptcy Laws?

Would it not make sense for them to give me the option to use my Visa Debit Card?

How should I proceed? Lay Low until they approach me?

WHAT TO DO???????

[dingdong]

Can you tell them you will get a prepaid CC or secured card to use for biz expenses?

Why does it have to be AMEX? Be logical with them, make points about the economy being crappy, include the number of BK filers that have been on the rise and be sure to point out that you are an asset to the co, whether you BK'd or not, and the fact that if you use a pre-paid visa ( where you deposit funds on hold and use it like a CC), they will actually save money on CC fees/interest.


If you can preform the duties of your job while usng an alternative source of credit, why should it matter who the credit provider is? (Tell them that)



.

[StartingOver08]

Ummm, you are in a tough position. DingDong has some great advice about the pre-paid cc or the visa debit card.

It is one thing to be an unknown commodity when you were first hired, but now that you have a well established reputation with the company for the past year the HR dept may be able to help you through this particular situation.

[Flamingo]

what is in your employment agreement or employee handbook about any employee filing bankruptcy and is there anything mentioned that if one files, that someone in the company needs to be informed? What is stated about the use of the company Corporate Amex card? All your answers are right there. You are correct that you cannot be fired just for filing bankruptcy but if there is some clause in your employment agreement or company handbook/policy as to filing and what needs to be done if one files bankruptcy and you did not comply, that could be a reason to get fired. You would need to contact a Labor Law lawyer to further investigate.

[Ifonly]

As far as labor law, a great deal depends upon what state you're in. State law presides with respect to employment law unless it is in contradiction to the Federal discrimination laws. Those trump all.

However, financial discrimination does not exist in the federal law. Unless you can prove that you've been discriminated against on the basis of sex, race, disability, etc., you do not have a case.

I worked for an employer in NJ who terminated me for my debt to income ratio after six months of reputable service (I had just gotten a glowing performance evaluation and a raise two weeks before). I had even revealed my crappy credit score at the time of the background check and was told "don't worry about it".

Immoral? Maybe. Crappy? Definitely Illegal? Nope, New Jersey is an employee at will state. Meaning they don't need a reason and can tell you're terminated because they don't like your shoes if they want.

I did, however, get severance by making a big fuss. Easier for them than having to fight off a lawsuit, even if it didn't have merit.

I would advise a meeting with your HR department, pronto. Laying low is NOT an option - it looks like you have something to hide, which you don't.

Maybe they could give you cash advances to travel based upon your signing a letter certifying how much you've received and that in the event that you can not produce an appropriate business receipt or in the event that you part ways, the employer can take any money not accounted for out of your last paycheck.

Good luck to you.

[njguy1972]

You should read your employment manual / agreement to see if it mentions bankruptcy.

Also, I believe the law says you cannot be fired for a bankruptcy unless it affect your job. Your employer can argue that your job requires you to entertain clients and that it is corporate policy to pay for this with a corporate credit card. If you cannot obtain a corporate credit card because of your credit, they can say you cannot fulfill your job.

Something to think about would be to see if they can move you to a role that does not require entertaining clients or having a corporate card.

If you work in financial services and deal with either money or live individual information (like social security numbers), you probably can be fired since they can claim it is a risk to the firm to have someone with a bankruptcy working with those customers.