Category Archives: Editorial

Even in this “paperless” society, we still have paperwork galore. We have a printer we don’t use often. All bills are paid online through our bank.

The other day I realized that with all the upheaval a certain online discount retailer’s layoffs caused us last month I misplaced my husband’s online car registration renewal postcard. It was due January 31. I realized late afternoon on Feb. 2 and checked everywhere for the notice but it was not to be found. I drove over there first thing the next morning and paid and got the sticker and we were OK. I brought passports, old registrations, everything I could find including insurance info. They just wanted a check, the first one I’ve written in years.

Now the company that fired 25% of their IT staff last month they gave us one sheet of paper with what we needed to do. Most of it was incorrect, or outright lies. Like you can’t call to find out what COBRA costs until AFTER your health insurance has ceased to be in force.

After three years of employment they gave us proof of health insurance with an 8-month gap! The person I talked to on the phone said she was only able to vouch for our HSA, not the PPO we had before when that same company was handling the books. That took at least 1/2 day in phone calls and tracking and they got it down to two months gap, then thanks to my perserverence and that of one dedicated employee, to none so we will be mailed proof we’ve paid and received coverage for three years so we may be able to get insurance elsewhere.

No-one cares what a laid off person goes through, especially this company, for which my husband worked for nearly three years and he got two weeks severance and cannot work for competing companies for 18 months. How are we supposed to live? Just doing your paperwork takes at least four hours per day.

I still don’t have a handle on life insurance or COBRA. But every item on the list has been wrong or is designed to fool the laid-off person. I’m nearly there but most people don’t have someone like me on their “payroll.” I also cook dinner, do laundry, walk and feed the dog, and clean the house. The other day I made a big breakthrough on one issue, and to celebrate, I cleaned the toilets!

Perhaps I should have a consulting business for the pre-executive tier that has a team of lawyers and accountants and me, negotiating to make sure life goes on while a six-figure guy or gal is laid off and has to concentrate on getting the next gig. Guys who want to sit at home and re-watch the games need not apply.

My file is three inches deep, just in issues from the past month, all paper. One issue I had to deal with had telephone operators hang up on me over 12 times, send me to a sex line and then to India. That was a tax matter that was created by the people who brought us here for this last job three years ago.

We’ve been through layoffs before, and know how to move anywhere. It’s a complicated game and takes more than one to play it. We’ll do okay and land on our feet and won’t ever buy any more of your sheets. Cheers, Dee