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Regular Contributor

Facing Unemployment at 50

I am currently employed as an Event Specialist for Crossmark/Crossmark Events.

Have worked for them for 4 years and I was averaging 3 – 4 days a week 16.5 - 22 hours a week.

I currently am Team Lead and conduct sampling events at Walmart 915 E. Randal Mill Arlington TX.

 

Crossmark has lost the Walmart Events Contract and as of October 16th my employment with them ends and I will be a Crossmark Employee under another Company ASM, I have completed the legal paperwork and the training crossmark/asm asked me to complete and uploaded the ASM scheduling app JET but at this point there is nothing on my schedule till the 22nd and nothing after that. And I am concerned that there may be nothing on schedule for at least 2 weeks while the transition of Crossmark Event Specialist over to ASM goes on. (I am not the only one with an empty schedule). I will be scheduled under ASM JET and will report my time under ASM Jet and Crossmark Sales Trac.

As a result of ASM taking over Walmart Events I will lose my team lead position.

I had was given the following choices by my Crossmark Supervisor David Ely who will no longer be with Crossmark as of the 16th of this month.

  1. Stay with Crossmark and be transferred to Walmart Short Blvd and lose my team lead position.

Stay with Crossmark and move over to Sam’s Club Events and lose my team lead position.

  1. Apply with ASM and continue working out of the Randall Mill Walmart and lose my  team lead position plus a drop in hourly rate and hours.

 

COMPLICATIONS:

 

  1. July 2016 I was scheduled to fill in at a Walmart at 200 Short Blvd, it was the end of the shift and I was finishing up my shift putting away the sampling cart, equipment and utensils back in the meat section of the warehouse I walk over to the sink to double check I had not left any utensils at the sink and I slipped and fell. Hurt my right ankle and bruised my left hip thigh area. The next day I went to Texas General Hospital where they took x-rays of my ankle. I am now under the care of David Pain & Davis Pain and Injury in Arlington TX, they have taken x-rays of my back and neck, also MRI of neck and ankle I have 4 torn ligaments in right ankle/foot 3 in ankle 1 in soul of foot and a cervical strain in neck. I am still working with a note from Davis Pain to be allowed a stool as needed and my husband got me a pair of light weight work boots and an elastic ankle support.

              

  1. The duplex my husband (who is on Social Security Disability) and I rent has numerous issues and out landlord has found us another place to rent but our rent will go from $500 a month to $750 a month, we need my income to afford that place and our landlord has found us another place on 2 other occasions which we were financially unable to take advantage of, the last time he found us a place we could not take him up on it as my husband was in hospital with liver failure and was expected to live a week, he is doing well now. We really do not want to have to turn our landlord down again for fear our he will get fed up and give up on finding us a place, we would like to stay with our landlord because he does not raise the rent every time we turn around.

 

I really feel I need legal help.

I have question on unemployment and workers comp

GEH
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Retired Community Manager

Hello @chas9770 and others who have participated in this discussion. You may be interested to know that we currently are hosting an AARP expert on this very topic. Laurie McCann is a Senior Attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation where her principal responsibilities include litigation and "amicus curiae" (impartial advisor) participation for AARP on a broad range of age discrimination and other employment issues.

 

Please pop over to our Theme Month Discussion to ask AARP Expert Laurie your questions about age discrimination, and share your experience.

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Newbie

I was "displaced' from my great position/great income job in late 2008 - took a temp position in 2009 which was over 14 months later then couldn't find anything matching or at even half my previous salaries.  Ended up taking a seasonal position at $10 an hour, got on as full time and am now making $17 an hour after 6 years.  I have revamped my resume hundreds of times and find that my level of experience gets chopped off just to get someone to call me in for an interview.  It is frustrating and living paycheck to paycheck is something I haven't done since I was 21!  

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Contributor

I am 61 and have been unemployed since last May. I have interviewed a lot and come close a a few times but haven't gotten a job yet.  I don't have nearly enough money to retire. I am trying to learn new skills in my field (IT) so maybe I can get a job that way.

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Contributor

The company I've been with for 11 years is disbanding our particular brand, so as of 1/28/17, I will be unemployed. I'm working on applications now, and I've submitted my application for unemployment. I read something about possibly getting special SS benefits while going through this process for mental distress & anxiety. Is this accurate? I'm 56, and I know my prospects are limited. Job hunting is an overwhelming task, & I'm very close to a zero balance in my accounts!

Any insight would be appreciated!

Thank you.

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Newbie

I am with you.  I am 58 years old and have been unemployed since October of 2015.   Have been lookignfor a job since then with no luck.  It is not easy for us folks at this age.  Although today we are still too young to retire.  

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Newbie

Don't be discouraged. There are actually a lot of companies out there that DON'T discriminate based on age. 

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Periodic Contributor

Agreed, temp agency will help.  Try you state .gov sites also.  They have many jobs that you can do from home via the internet.  Many medcial companies are also looking for persons that will work from home, via the internet. 

 

Take a course in resume writing at your local college.  What once worked on a resume, doesn't work now.  I see many resumes, and they are filled with the old style words.  Pep up your resume.

 

I am facing a possible plant shut down soon, so I am all ready looking. 

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Regular Contributor

Ditto. In the past, I've signed up with more than one temp agency at a time, usually 4 - 5, and had good results. I would also keep up on a job search if the temp contract was short-term. I've actually ended up on two of my long-term jobs because I was hired when the temp contract ended.

 

One thing I'm doing now is working with a career counselor to get ready for when they drop the hammer on me. THIS time I'm going to be ready to look for work, and I won't take just any available job simply because it pays a fairly good wage - in other words, I won't go into "job survival" mode, I'll be a bit pickier about which job I choose to take. I'm feeling much more hopeful this time around.

caircair
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Contributor

I was told Nov 2015 that my position was being eliminated and that I was expected to take a demotion and significant pay grade.  Since I had made more money at this same position 10 years ago and had completed my Associates Degree, which allowed me the promotion,  I decided to decline the offer and apply for the newly created position.  I was not hired for the new position and as of Jan 2016 I have been unemployed.  I obtained an attorney to go with me to the unemployment hearing and he encouraged me to file for age descrimination (the new hire was 30 and had no degree or experience).  I applied for over 300 positions since that time.  I had maybe 10 interviews.  The girl who was hired quit after 9 months. They changed the position back to my original position.  The day before the papers were to be filed in court for the descrimination case, the attorney called to say he changed his mind. I verified with another attorney that the case was closed because there wasnt enough time to hire a new attorney even to file an extension.  This is wrong for so many reasons.  I have no write ups or disciplines.  I have worked hard my whole life and have a very good work ethic.  Unemployment is over after 6 months so I have no income.  This has effected me mentally and physically.  .  Pennsylvania is a free will state and the employer can fire/hire whoever they want. I feel that something needs to be done but have no clue how to go about doing it

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Newbie

Yes, it is pretty bad out there.  I was let go from my job in 2015.  First time ever and they really had no reason but to say I had a bad "attitude" .  My attitude was because certain individuals did not do what they were suppose to in order for me to move forward with my part of doing the job.  The manager had her favorites and I was not one of them.  So when I brought it to her attention she did not like it and that caused for her to say I had a bad attitude.  I do believe I will be better for not working there.  It was not a place for me, but I was not warned and did not need to lose my job.  I had NEVER been told I had a bad attitude in my years of working.  I always got along with everyone and was a team player.  This has also affected my self esteem and I keep blaming myself for it. We need to move on and better things will come to us in 2017!!  

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Periodic Contributor

I had a problem with a company that to this day I really don’t respect as they lied at my unemployment hearing and said I was insubordinate. I had come on board in 2010 and had become their top battery seller for their AAA contract. The owner was furious with his younger employees. How does this old guy out sell you?

In 2012 I was asked to train potential new hires and was given pretty much two weeks but it wasn’t working. They would hire them anyways and they either quit or was fired! My vehicle was vandalized on company property to the point it was dangerous to drive. The owner did nothing to the new hire as other employees complained about him tampering with their vehicles. He was selling batteries like me! I contracted MRSA months later at a local hospital and asked for an advance.

Owner went into I should have done this and denied me! I had to pawn things as I recovered! Owner would lend his friends money but not someone who had been a friend of his dads who founded the company and was his best light service driver. Age became a factor now when I returned. Call volume was dropping for me and AAA picked up it was our dispatcher. I was their top driver for my shop in Montgomery County. The owner wanted out of that area. They wanted me to quit! Instead they fired me days before Christmas in 2012. Light service would go downhill in that county. He didn’t care! He was only making profit with me out there! Not the younger drivers!

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Contributor

I am just returning to the workforce after 15 months of unemployment. I returned to Florida only to find out out that I was either too old or overqualified for warehouse/logistics work after 15+ years of Asset Management in the government sector. I returned to DC because this is the only place to secure contract work. I now do inventory for the House of Representatives, the contract is only for 4 months...

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Regular Contributor

I am also caregiver to my husband who is on Social Security Disability for Mental Health issues, Hip Replacement and now a bad liver. 

GEH
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Honored Social Butterfly

There are some legal services that you can contact. Check the internet for some in your area. Also there are senior resource groups that you can find on line. If you have trouble finding them, contact the Senator in your district and they may direct you to the proper service.

Good luck and I hope things work out well for you. Update us later if possible. In the meantime, I will look on line to see what links I can find to post that may be of help to you. I will list what I find.

Soosie
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Contributor

I have also been out of work for 6 months.  My unemployment is about to run out in a few weeks and I have very little savings left.  I have been actively looking for work and interviewing but nothing has come through.  I am expanding the job search to other areas. If nothing comes through soon I will have to take any job I can get.  One thought - many stores are hiring for the holidays so I might be able to get something for a while and it might turn into a permanent position until I can get something better.

 

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Periodic Contributor

HI, I WAS LAID OF IN 2009 - AND THEN AGAIN IN 2010 - IT WAS HARD - I WAS WAY OVER 50 - I JUST KEPT SEARCHING - AND SEARCHING - AND SEARCHING - TOOK JOB TRAINING, BUT IT ENDED UP THE WORK WAS PAYING WAY LESS THAN WHAT I HAD MADE WHEN I WAS LAID OFF

 

WENT ON JOB INTERVIEWS; THEY WANTED TO PAY $8 AN HOUR AND YOU HAD TO DO PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING, ALMOST INCLUDING WASHING THE WINDOWS AND CLEANING THE FLOORS (JUST A LITTLE HUMOR THERE) - BUT FOR WHAT THEY WERE ASKING AND WHAT THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY, I WAS CONFOUNDED!

 

BY THE GRACE OF GOD, A JOB COORDINATOR AT A TEMPORARY AGENCY, WHO HAD OPENED THEIR OWN BUSINESS, RECEIVED A LISTING AND SHE THOUGHT OF ME - AND I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL TO HER FOR THIS - TURNED OUT THE JOB WAS EXACTLY WHAT I HAD BEEN DOING - JUST A FEW DOLLARS AN HOUR LESS THAN WHAT I WAS BEING PAID - BUT BETTER BENEFITS - AND A SUPER GREAT BOSS!

 

DEPENDING UPON THE TYPE OF WORK YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, TRY WORKING FOR TEMPORARY AGENCIES - IT PROVIDES YOU WITH WORK - AND, AT THE SAME TIME, AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR

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Contributor

Totally agree. I recommend to all of the more senior job seekers to try going through a temp agency if they can. It allows them to get their foot in the door and maybe, just maybe, end up with a permanent position or to realize that the company/position may not be for them. Sort of a "try it before you buy it" philosophy.
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Contributor

What is the name of the agency ?
I've been looking for a part time job for a long time.
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Periodic Contributor

You can try Kelly Services, CoreStaff, ManPower, NetTemps, Spherion, and Westaff

 

Unfortunately ,  the coordinator who placed me shut down her business  and obtained an HR position  with another firm

 

Hope this helps

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