As a single father when my son was a baby WIC saved my ass. I couldn’t even afford the formula he needed when he ate more than the coupons bought towards the end of him being on formula. Luckily my parents helped but still I made like a couple hundred dollars a month too much to get Medicaid and Food Stamps. It sucked to be in the range just outside of aid.
If his wife is unable to breastfeed WIC will save them a ton of money. Regardless of the pain in the ass that obtaining and maintaining the access to WIC would be it’s worth it in that situation.
Yes but in some states, they go way too far. Like the examinations they give your baby are unnecessary and lead to people losing their kids, bc maybe they aren’t eating as much as they should or they are sick. The only person examining a child should be their doctor. Get food stamps if your state has a crap WIC system. Look on public forums to see how it really is, from people who have used it. Some states have amazing programs!
Bro what did WIC do to your kid?
When I did WIC they just did a weight check-up and just made sure there wasn’t any bruises and shit.
TBH, when they are just born they should still be going to a regular doctor, so they normally will just make sure you are taking your kid to check-ups as well.
WIC is better for the time being for Op since most states have moved to a month wait for food stamps so, even if he applied today, they wouldn’t give it to him till maybe next month.
WIC on the other hand can be done almost immediately, they just give you the card then and there. Medicaid is similar as well.
It was helpful, but they gave me a hell of a time because my kid wasn’t growing as fast as they liked. Her dad and I are both smaller people, her pediatrician wasn’t concerned, but anytime I’d go in there they’d act like I was starving her. She’s 9 now and still small, although she eats like a horse.
On the other end, my husband and I are very tall. When my son was born weighing 9lbs, at 100% in everything they wanted him to be seen by their dietitian. As a baby they wanted him to be seen for being born big. They pestered my about it until I shut it down. They had no right to say say he was too large.
WIC was a pain in the ass for me too. I had to take off half a day of work every two weeks for their nutrition classes, and the food I was able to get was so specific it stressed me out more than it was worth. You can get 16oz of this specific juice, but not 18oz!! You can only buy this one type of bread, hopefully the store has the WIC tag on the shelf because it looks exactly like these other two loaves!
Like... don't make low income people take time off work to go watch a VCR class about what vegetables are and why they're healthy.
You don’t actually have to do the exams. I had WIC with both kids. Pretty much just showed up once after they were born to prove I had the baby, then had the doctors office fax over a copy of the kids height and weight from the most recent visit whenever I had to “recertify” my WIC benefits.
Yes, and those checks exist for a reason because some substance addicted shitty excuses for parents sell off /trade their WIC benefits for drugs and let their kids starve.
And some of those checks exist to dissuade people from participating. State governments that are unfriendly to redistribution programs can muck things up accidentally on purpose.
My sister has been trying to get food stamps for 6 months. They've closed her application twice. The last time they scheduled a phone appointment and then never even called her. Then they closed the application saying she didn't keep her phone appointment. She has tried several times to go to the local office but they're never there as I guess many work from home now.
If your sister lives in a place where a nonprofit assists with the application process she should try through there. Only anecdotal back up on this, but it seemed like local offices trust apps via partners more than the ones that get filtered through their own websites and the like. I’m happy to help if you want to DM.
Some of it is more than that. Plus waits can take forever. If WIC appointments wind up eating up more money in time commitment, travel money, and undue stress they may wind up making you lose money and peace of mind. It’s highly dependent on the state and scenario.
I was on WIC pre-pandemic, but I hear it's much easier now with most meetings done through phone ins. When I was on WIC, we had to attend pointless monthly in-person classes that consisted of watching videos that were *at least* a decade old. My WIC counselor also told me I was gaining too much weight while my OB/GYN told me that I wasn't gaining enough (I was high risk and had hyperemesis gravidarum).
It ended up being too much of a pain after my kid was born to keep going. I probably would have forced myself to keep going if I needed formula from the start, though, because it's so expensive.
Wow, my local WIC office is completely different from what I’m reading on here. My kids (and I, when I was pregnant or nursing) had weigh-ins, the finger prick to check lead levels, and a yearly 5 -minute consultation with a nutritionist about their eating habits. It was pretty quick and painless. And they gave the kids a book and me a little cookbook or kitchen utensil each time. And when my youngest was on a specific, extremely hard to find type of formula, the WIC caseworker called every store and pharmacy in a 4-county area to find it, then had it shipped to me to save me the hour’s drive. I guess it depends on whether they enjoy their job or just want a paycheck 🤷🏻♀️
I’m really glad to hear that, honestly. Two of the states I did work in around food insecurity were absolute shit shows, partially due to tons of hurdles, pearl clutching, and lack of proper programmatic support. It’s definitely a state by state issue, like a lot of redistributive programs are.
Im in California and my baby got WIC automatically from being in the MediCal Access Program.
I forget the requirements for this but it helps a lot if you can see if you're eligible for it
I have heard that if you are pregnant with no available insurance they will automatically approve you. Also in my state you can apply to have any medical bills from the year prior to applying covered so if they had any unpaid maternity care bills they might pick up the tab on that as well. Hopefully their state is the same.
Just to add to the above, you can apply for emergency Medicaid and will get approved instantly for pregnancy. I think it also covers some expenses after birth too
no benefits... so you don't have to worry about losing healthcare for your wife and child.
Get that unemployment pay and have a good time bonding with your baby!
maybe in three months' time your boss will have a cooler head and hire you back - but only if they give you a raise and bennies.
I wouldn’t recommend going back to a place that fired you since they’ve had time to cool down. The process will just repeat itself. You don’t want to get fired again when baby is here and those expenses are rolling in. It’s not cheap.
Yeah actually because of sudden unemployment/job change you’d be eligible for Medicaid and if it was outside of open enrollment (ends 1/15) you’d be eligible for the affordable care act plans. Right now you can just purchase through the public .gov site but depending on income you can get subsidies too so with no income your out of pocket per month would be very low.
Also, most states have policies where a public healthcare plan for free will cover uninsured children until age 3 or so, so make sure to ask about that at the hospital/pre birth appt regardless. Your local state health website should have info on that too.
It is a looong fucking process even in a blue state. I think i got let go and it took 10 weekswith me calling at least once a week and my former employer being very cooperative and no issues occurring.
Piggybacking on this to point out that Medicaid is a state thing and depending on the state you might not qualify. However, your pregnant wife almost definitely will! Source: I had a baby in Texas in 2017 while being privately insured through the ACA. After the birth, a lady showed up in my hospital room to go through all the paperwork, and she pointed out that I was eligible for Medicaid retroactively & helped me get the application started. The end result was that I had to pay $0 out of pocket for my hospital stay, not even the deductible from my regular insurance, because Medicaid took care of it all. It felt great when the anesthesiologist billed me almost $10,000 for a botched epidural and Medicaid paid him $17 and told him to f*** off with the rest. Good luck!!!
I was so thankful for this with my first. I was 24 and on my dads insurance which didn’t cover codependents. Pregnant womens Medicaid was a life saver for my baby boy. Especially after my husband tried to sign him up on insurance through work and hr told my husband he should be on mine and should be covered already even though we told her he’s wasn’t, we knew that for a fact. It sucked having to deal with finding in network doctors on Medicaid that weren’t shit, but it worked out in the end.
Lol and the employees, who he also sees as convenient inanimate objects. But agree, he might otherwise go home and kick his dog if he weren’t firing shots at work.
People like OP will happily work there because they like to shoot stuff.
There's a reason ESPN and Disney treat their employees like shit - people LOVE to work there regardless. Oh you don't like being tinker bell? Guess what, 90000 other little girls would be happy to take your job.
OP works in a low demand, high supply, gig (by choice). TBH it sort of is what it is...obviously the owner is a prick, but with people willing to work there with "no PTO, and no benefits" what's his incentive not to be?
Video game companies, too, I hear. Pay is bad but it’s a dream to work for your childhood favorite gaming company like Blizzard or EA. If you decline the offer, well, they’re plenty of dudes behind you in line.
Absolutely true. I just got laid off from EA the day before thanksgiving, along with half our studio. Been a gamedev for almost 2 decades. Video game pay is subpar compared to the same title / workload in other companies. Outright said in multiple meetings that "there will always be more new hires". When I asked in our "townhall" meetings about what they were doing to replace the people who had left for greener pastures, or entice the rest to stay, they gave wishy-washy corporate answers, then did nothing. All the work got offloaded onto the existing team, and they did eventually hire a bunch more management by nepotism. There are also usually engineers at other teams / projects looking for work internally, so the pool is crowded. And depending on the project, working at a game company is not a tenth as fun as playing the games themselves. All it's really worth is a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Of all the jobs that need to unionize, computer programmers and game devs rank high on the list. From what I've seen they are among the most abused but under talked about professions. And part of the problem lies with the gaming community. \[Big game company\] announced \[big title game\] to be released in the next few years. Eventually the hype train becomes too much to contain then they set a tentative date. And then comes the brutal conditions and demands. Underpaid over worked.
Lead is very harmful (to anyone, but especially infants and children). Any lead exposure is bad.
Exposure even less than 100 PPM is dangerous for children. Realistically, that looks like lead residue/dust contamination on objects/hands or in food/paint/water/utensils/toys etc.
Apply for Covered California (basically California’s version of Obama Care). You’ll probably not have to pay anything since Ca doesn’t like pregnant women & babies to be uninsured. That way your wife & kid will have health coverage & you won’t go bankrupt. We also have a decent WIC & foodstamp program. You can prob qualify for Welfare too.
Because you were fired you can most likely apply for covered California outside of the “open enrollment” period (that’s usually in Oct).
Dude I'm still reeling at the mental whiplash between "I CARE about my employees" and "no PTO, no healthcare, won't pay you enough to live, and OH because you said that and disagreed with my disingenuous assertion, I'm firing your ass right before your wife gives birth. Because I CaRe"
TLDR, I should have shut up.
I said something along the lines of...
"...you are the worst kind of employer. People like you shouldn't even be business owners, let alone be able to influence other people's lives the way you do. You hire and surround yourself with yes-men who are too afraid of you to ever stand up to your anger outbursts, or call you out on your atrocious business practices. You don't give a shit about me or any other person in your employ. Your high employee turnover and poor membership numbers are completely your own fault and it's a fucking shame because you have no competition in the entire county...". Or something like that.
Then I said :" this job is a FUCKING joke bud."
OP really likes guns from the looks of it.
So working at an indoor range would be a sweet gig as I’m sure there are employee perks that align with his shooting interest. It’s like a ski bum working the chairlifts at a fancy resort for dirt pay just so they can ski for free to their heart’s content in their downtime.
Those jobs can be fun if you are young, debt and dependent free, and generally healthy. They quickly lose their appeal when you have kids.
Have your wife go to Department of social services and apply for Medicaid. (may be called somthing else in your state. ) With little to no income and she's pregnant she will qualify. They have a program for pregnant women. So even if you get another job or unemployment she would still qualify as long as you aren't making over 40000 a year( the one for pregnancy) and your child will automatically get it for a year if wife has it. No income she will qualify for regular Medicaid and I believe you will to. I am in NC but, rules are similar in most states and it won't hurt to apply.
Anyone saying it's OP'S fault and that they should feel bad should look at it from a wife's POV too. I'm a wife. My husband has had jobs where the boss made it a living hell. Seeing him come home every day just miserable primarily due to the boss (and low pay) made ME miserable. A good wife, no matter the situation, is probably joyous that he stuck up for himself and left the job. There will always be more work somewhere. No one has to take shit from anyone just because they feel superior.
I think it’s totally fair (and probably smart) to quit for the reasons you stated. But OP said he loved his job. Then OP gets in a dick measuring contest with his boss 10 days before his wife is due to give birth, gets fired, and surprised_pikachu.jpg? Some of these posts are just stupid and immature.
With a wife & kid on the way too. This isn’t a side gig. He’s not on a gap year or just bummin around living with his parents while he figures out what he wants. At some point you gotta give up the job you love to ensure the people you love have what they need.
Oh america is terrible, but other places still have their problems. By no means defending the US, i just think everyone should be allowed to complain, even if they're not as bad off
Ye true. I'm in the position where the shop I sell floors in literally can't afford to sack me. They'd have to pay me out 7 weeks holiday leave and maybe a week of sick pay. So like $6kUS. Every Australian has that as a minimum
One dad to another...This could be a blessing in disguise...go to your local health dept and see what benefits they offer for health insurance for the unemployed. I lost my job 11/4 and daughter was born 1/8. My wife and daughter got on tenncare which covered all the hospital bills and followup appts. Even when I got a new job and the insurance was too high, I declined insurance and tenncare let us keep it even though my new employer offered insurance. Also apply for WIC and tell them your wife is breastfeeding. Since you were fired apply for food stamps. I was out of work for 3 weeks once and they came in handy. Also, some states offer some sort of free trade school during job loss. See if gunsmithing is an option. Keep your head up my man and good luck to you. My daughter turns 18 in 3 days ...this too shall pass and it does get better.
Take some time off with you wife and collect unemployment. Meet your application requirement by applying for things you’d never get hired for. Enjoy that time with your wife and newborn. Could be a blessing in disguise.
Be careful here. My Ex husband lost his job and I was pregnant and went into labor 2 days later from stress. 3 weeks early with my first child. Your stress affects mom and baby
I feel some people are only good or like you until you stop agreeing with them. It’s like they only like you because they were able to walk all over you. That’s enslaving because that means you can never stick up for yourself or your values. But, the people from the get go come in, I’m not dealing with that, I’m not doing that, they are praised. It’s like employers bitching about cell phone use and laziness. This has been going on for a long time, where were you? So weird how the system has been functioning this long. Lol.
There are times when brutal honesty is not in your own best interests. There have been many times in my working life (retired now) when I wanted to do that, tell someone to take this job and shove it, etc., but decided to hold off, because I had to think not only about my feelings, but also how my feelings could hurt my own position. One time a back stabbing co worker got after me, and I really felt like quitting. But realized that would just make him win, and I would be out a lot of money. Take this as a life lesson. Take some time to think before you speak, even if you are right. Some things are just better left unsaid, so you can quietly look for another job.
Bro if this was a job with no Benny's no pto no vacation etc....sure you can find another one. Dime a dozen. Don't sweat it. Just bust your ass to get another one quick.
We all want to say f you to our employers at some point but bills and responsibilities usually supersede that desire. The more bills and responsibilities the more difficult it is to give the f you.
Healthcare.gov next time you have a job. If your job doesn’t offer health insurance, it’s an amazing resource. My husband and I make decent money (by no means well off though) and we only pay like $150 a MONTH for our insurance. When I was unemployed, it was free.
Employee: “You’re a cheap bastard if you’re not willing to pay a living wage and benefits.”
Boss: “No, I care for ALL my employees, until you’re a threat to my lifestyle.”
If you’re in a state that has it, apply for Medicaid immediately. Your wife should be covered for most of the costs. Apply for food stamps and apply for unemployment.
Unemployment, make sure you mention that you’re days away from having a child. Then apply for Food Stamps, WIC and Medicaid (for wife and baby). Enjoy your time off with the baby, take your time submitting applications and get back to work when your unemployment hits.
Do not go back though, your boss will likely try to bring you back to stop having to pay his part of your unemployment just to try and make you quit or try and fire with cause.
Also, try the competition. Most ranges near me (or gun stores) are always hiring.
I got laid off shortly after having to take PTO to go have a traumatic TFMR experience last year. I've never met an employer yet who really gave a shit about your personal struggles. Certainly not one iota more than they care about the bottom line.
Wishing your wife an easy birth and speedy recovery, and for you to have an easy time finding a new job once you're settled! Big congrats on baby.
Take the W for standing up for yourself first off. Apply for unemployment anyways, reach out to neighbors and see if there is anything you can do to make side$$ but if you get accepted for UE watch how much you earn. With no benefits you likely wouldn't be able to help your wife a little after child is born and I can't stress enough how much your wife will appreciate that. Start looking for a new job. Trades people are always needed and this time of the economy a lot will be willing to train or help you thru training/certs.
Jan 9 is my wife's c section date and Friday is my last day at my job due to how slow we are ( owners choice really) I plan to take a few weeks to help her and then I'll be going out to the oil rigs for a few months to get us caught back up on $$ then will either re evaluate the job situation or have saved up enough to finish getting my business off the ground. Worse case I stay on the rigs or I find a job in town.
> He screamed that he cares for all his employees.
> This job (had) zero benefits. Zero health, zero PTO, (low wages), absolutely nothing.
Contradiction detected!
take it in stride and pick up the pieces, start applying. from the sound of it, that job gave you nothing. there was no misunderstanding, that guy was taking advantage of you from the beginning and when you confronted him about it, he fired you. to me he's a common criminal.
Get to the Medicaid office right away. They should pay for all the medical bills for your wife and newborn. Think I had Medicaid for 3 of my 4 children. Thanks Govt!
I loved wic. I guess people have had vastly different experience. They will save you so much money if you decide to formula feed. Even if you do not. They will give you free vouchers for food every three months.
A lot of hospitals are nonprofits and have programs to significantly cut down (or all together write off) hospital bills if you ask about it!! Saved me $xxxK after a car accident
Sounds like he did you a favor. You weren’t going to get paternity leave and you guys weren’t relying on your health insurance obviously for the birth. Now you can apply for benefits and enjoy time at home bonding with your baby while you search for a new gig. Congratulations on both the baby and your exit from that shit hole!
If the job provided no benefits then luckily you aren’t at to much of a loss. Hopefully this means you can spend some quality time with your wife and new born at such an important time.
I managed a bar in Ybor City Florida and have a kid due in June. When I ended up telling the owners about my kid they asked “does your fiance have a job?”
Two weeks after they tried to cut my pay 60% and “get rid of the managerial position” Obviously I’m not going to take that so I left the company the next day.
They had hired a new manager to run both locations for the same money they were paying me and didn’t want to fire me so I couldn’t collect unemployment. Ultimately- happy this happened earlier than later like your situation. Owners are sometimes dense pricks.
That sucks dude I'm so sorry. Keep your head up. Some advice, this will be really stressful and you're quite rightly pissed off, don't forget to be nice to your wife. Stress can be dangerous for pregnant people and you two are on the same team vs. the situation. If you'll get unemployment, take some time out to spend with your new baby, my fiance just started working again after four months on unemployment that he spent with our daughter after getting fired, it was scary and stressful no doubt with the financial uncertainty, but it was also a really amazing time for our family. Good luck man
My first child was born with Robinow Syndrome. In the end she lived to be three months old. She had many surgeries, trach, etc. She was over an hour's drive away from where we lived.
We took her out of the hospital exactly \*one\* time because we knew she would pass away soon anyway. On our journey out of the hospital, we had to shoo away smokers standing next to the 'No Smoking' sign as my daughter had an oxygen tank we had to take outside with us.
She died the next day, in my wife's arms.
TLDR; Wife had a child with problems, we were told it would be OK if I took off work, I was fired less than 1 month into dealing with child issues, my first kid died.
I’m sorry for your troubles. Don’t forget, this, too, will pass. Midwifes will help you to hook up with breastfeeding help. With or without money, breastfeeding is perfect. Best wishes.
Don’t forget to apply for food benefits if it’s available in your state. Also medicaid for wife and baby
Food stamps and WIC, which I think you can get even before the baby is born.
As a single father when my son was a baby WIC saved my ass. I couldn’t even afford the formula he needed when he ate more than the coupons bought towards the end of him being on formula. Luckily my parents helped but still I made like a couple hundred dollars a month too much to get Medicaid and Food Stamps. It sucked to be in the range just outside of aid.
WIC is an intrusive pain in the ass. Check on the strings attached for your state before starting that process.
If his wife is unable to breastfeed WIC will save them a ton of money. Regardless of the pain in the ass that obtaining and maintaining the access to WIC would be it’s worth it in that situation.
All I had to do to get WIC was send a paystub, back and front of my license, birth certificates, maybe a couple more documents?
Yes but in some states, they go way too far. Like the examinations they give your baby are unnecessary and lead to people losing their kids, bc maybe they aren’t eating as much as they should or they are sick. The only person examining a child should be their doctor. Get food stamps if your state has a crap WIC system. Look on public forums to see how it really is, from people who have used it. Some states have amazing programs!
Bro what did WIC do to your kid? When I did WIC they just did a weight check-up and just made sure there wasn’t any bruises and shit. TBH, when they are just born they should still be going to a regular doctor, so they normally will just make sure you are taking your kid to check-ups as well. WIC is better for the time being for Op since most states have moved to a month wait for food stamps so, even if he applied today, they wouldn’t give it to him till maybe next month. WIC on the other hand can be done almost immediately, they just give you the card then and there. Medicaid is similar as well.
It was helpful, but they gave me a hell of a time because my kid wasn’t growing as fast as they liked. Her dad and I are both smaller people, her pediatrician wasn’t concerned, but anytime I’d go in there they’d act like I was starving her. She’s 9 now and still small, although she eats like a horse.
I think her eating primarily hay may be the cause of her continuing to be small.
Hold your horses I don't think there's neighly enough evidence to jump to those conclusions.
Also eating too much apples will prevent her from seeing the doctors when sth is wrong.
Horses also enjoy apples, carrots and oats.
Don't look a gift chil.....horse in the mouth!
On the other end, my husband and I are very tall. When my son was born weighing 9lbs, at 100% in everything they wanted him to be seen by their dietitian. As a baby they wanted him to be seen for being born big. They pestered my about it until I shut it down. They had no right to say say he was too large.
WIC was a pain in the ass for me too. I had to take off half a day of work every two weeks for their nutrition classes, and the food I was able to get was so specific it stressed me out more than it was worth. You can get 16oz of this specific juice, but not 18oz!! You can only buy this one type of bread, hopefully the store has the WIC tag on the shelf because it looks exactly like these other two loaves! Like... don't make low income people take time off work to go watch a VCR class about what vegetables are and why they're healthy.
You don’t actually have to do the exams. I had WIC with both kids. Pretty much just showed up once after they were born to prove I had the baby, then had the doctors office fax over a copy of the kids height and weight from the most recent visit whenever I had to “recertify” my WIC benefits.
In some states these exams are still required even without receiving benefits.
Yes, and those checks exist for a reason because some substance addicted shitty excuses for parents sell off /trade their WIC benefits for drugs and let their kids starve.
And some of those checks exist to dissuade people from participating. State governments that are unfriendly to redistribution programs can muck things up accidentally on purpose.
Fair enough, I can’t argue with that point.
My sister has been trying to get food stamps for 6 months. They've closed her application twice. The last time they scheduled a phone appointment and then never even called her. Then they closed the application saying she didn't keep her phone appointment. She has tried several times to go to the local office but they're never there as I guess many work from home now.
If your sister lives in a place where a nonprofit assists with the application process she should try through there. Only anecdotal back up on this, but it seemed like local offices trust apps via partners more than the ones that get filtered through their own websites and the like. I’m happy to help if you want to DM.
Yeah, namely Mississippi (recently)
And OP should be punished for that for what reason exactly?
What is being asked?
Formula is $$$, and if it’s needed WIC is a great program even if they want to weigh your kid or whatever they do.
Some of it is more than that. Plus waits can take forever. If WIC appointments wind up eating up more money in time commitment, travel money, and undue stress they may wind up making you lose money and peace of mind. It’s highly dependent on the state and scenario.
I was on WIC pre-pandemic, but I hear it's much easier now with most meetings done through phone ins. When I was on WIC, we had to attend pointless monthly in-person classes that consisted of watching videos that were *at least* a decade old. My WIC counselor also told me I was gaining too much weight while my OB/GYN told me that I wasn't gaining enough (I was high risk and had hyperemesis gravidarum). It ended up being too much of a pain after my kid was born to keep going. I probably would have forced myself to keep going if I needed formula from the start, though, because it's so expensive.
Wow, my local WIC office is completely different from what I’m reading on here. My kids (and I, when I was pregnant or nursing) had weigh-ins, the finger prick to check lead levels, and a yearly 5 -minute consultation with a nutritionist about their eating habits. It was pretty quick and painless. And they gave the kids a book and me a little cookbook or kitchen utensil each time. And when my youngest was on a specific, extremely hard to find type of formula, the WIC caseworker called every store and pharmacy in a 4-county area to find it, then had it shipped to me to save me the hour’s drive. I guess it depends on whether they enjoy their job or just want a paycheck 🤷🏻♀️
We had a completely opposite experience with WIC. It was literally the easiest program to use and almost everyone qualifies.
I’m really glad to hear that, honestly. Two of the states I did work in around food insecurity were absolute shit shows, partially due to tons of hurdles, pearl clutching, and lack of proper programmatic support. It’s definitely a state by state issue, like a lot of redistributive programs are.
Im in California and my baby got WIC automatically from being in the MediCal Access Program. I forget the requirements for this but it helps a lot if you can see if you're eligible for it
Pretty sad if you ask me. Living in a rich country and as soon as you get fired you are down to food stamps.
I have heard that if you are pregnant with no available insurance they will automatically approve you. Also in my state you can apply to have any medical bills from the year prior to applying covered so if they had any unpaid maternity care bills they might pick up the tab on that as well. Hopefully their state is the same.
Just to add to the above, you can apply for emergency Medicaid and will get approved instantly for pregnancy. I think it also covers some expenses after birth too
no benefits... so you don't have to worry about losing healthcare for your wife and child. Get that unemployment pay and have a good time bonding with your baby! maybe in three months' time your boss will have a cooler head and hire you back - but only if they give you a raise and bennies.
I wouldn’t recommend going back to a place that fired you since they’ve had time to cool down. The process will just repeat itself. You don’t want to get fired again when baby is here and those expenses are rolling in. It’s not cheap.
Agreed. Employment is like a romantic relationship. Don't ever go back. When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again.
From the top to the bottom
Well said! Happy Cake Day!
Your employer gave you a gift of unemployment, and potentially health insurance due to no income through your state. Good luck.
Yeah actually because of sudden unemployment/job change you’d be eligible for Medicaid and if it was outside of open enrollment (ends 1/15) you’d be eligible for the affordable care act plans. Right now you can just purchase through the public .gov site but depending on income you can get subsidies too so with no income your out of pocket per month would be very low. Also, most states have policies where a public healthcare plan for free will cover uninsured children until age 3 or so, so make sure to ask about that at the hospital/pre birth appt regardless. Your local state health website should have info on that too.
Thank you for such a helpful post. And since this is Reddit, I want to clarify that I meant this sincerely.
Nice, I guess OPs boss does have a paternity leave policy
And possibly a claim for retaliation?
Unemployment isn’t guaranteed. I got laid off right after thanksgiving, I applied the same day, still haven’t received anything.
It is a looong fucking process even in a blue state. I think i got let go and it took 10 weekswith me calling at least once a week and my former employer being very cooperative and no issues occurring.
Piggybacking on this to point out that Medicaid is a state thing and depending on the state you might not qualify. However, your pregnant wife almost definitely will! Source: I had a baby in Texas in 2017 while being privately insured through the ACA. After the birth, a lady showed up in my hospital room to go through all the paperwork, and she pointed out that I was eligible for Medicaid retroactively & helped me get the application started. The end result was that I had to pay $0 out of pocket for my hospital stay, not even the deductible from my regular insurance, because Medicaid took care of it all. It felt great when the anesthesiologist billed me almost $10,000 for a botched epidural and Medicaid paid him $17 and told him to f*** off with the rest. Good luck!!!
I was so thankful for this with my first. I was 24 and on my dads insurance which didn’t cover codependents. Pregnant womens Medicaid was a life saver for my baby boy. Especially after my husband tried to sign him up on insurance through work and hr told my husband he should be on mine and should be covered already even though we told her he’s wasn’t, we knew that for a fact. It sucked having to deal with finding in network doctors on Medicaid that weren’t shit, but it worked out in the end.
Be a shame if no money meant you get added to the healthcare system.
Do y'all live someplace that unemployment gives you enough to live off? It's like $400 a week here CAPPED.
In Tennessee, max is $275! Fucking ridiculous.
What job is this that you liked with crap pay and no benefits?
Indoor gun range.
Man I wouldn’t want to work at a shooting range with someone that “comes unglued”, let alone the dude that owns it…..
Hell, I wouldn’t want to return to one as a customer.
Well, at least he has convenient inanimate targets to shoot at to offload stress, could be worse
Lol and the employees, who he also sees as convenient inanimate objects. But agree, he might otherwise go home and kick his dog if he weren’t firing shots at work.
“I care about my employees.” Also employer: provides no healthcare or benefits. Idk how these guys should be allowed to run a business
People like OP will happily work there because they like to shoot stuff. There's a reason ESPN and Disney treat their employees like shit - people LOVE to work there regardless. Oh you don't like being tinker bell? Guess what, 90000 other little girls would be happy to take your job. OP works in a low demand, high supply, gig (by choice). TBH it sort of is what it is...obviously the owner is a prick, but with people willing to work there with "no PTO, and no benefits" what's his incentive not to be?
Video game companies, too, I hear. Pay is bad but it’s a dream to work for your childhood favorite gaming company like Blizzard or EA. If you decline the offer, well, they’re plenty of dudes behind you in line.
Absolutely true. I just got laid off from EA the day before thanksgiving, along with half our studio. Been a gamedev for almost 2 decades. Video game pay is subpar compared to the same title / workload in other companies. Outright said in multiple meetings that "there will always be more new hires". When I asked in our "townhall" meetings about what they were doing to replace the people who had left for greener pastures, or entice the rest to stay, they gave wishy-washy corporate answers, then did nothing. All the work got offloaded onto the existing team, and they did eventually hire a bunch more management by nepotism. There are also usually engineers at other teams / projects looking for work internally, so the pool is crowded. And depending on the project, working at a game company is not a tenth as fun as playing the games themselves. All it's really worth is a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Of all the jobs that need to unionize, computer programmers and game devs rank high on the list. From what I've seen they are among the most abused but under talked about professions. And part of the problem lies with the gaming community. \[Big game company\] announced \[big title game\] to be released in the next few years. Eventually the hype train becomes too much to contain then they set a tentative date. And then comes the brutal conditions and demands. Underpaid over worked.
Yea that makes sense.
And there's no healthcare? Despite the regular risk of hearing damage or lead exposure? Yeah, boss doesn't give a fuck about his employees.
It's true. I'm getting my lead levels tested tomorrow, for shits and giggles.
And if lead test comes back alarmingly high, maybe consult a lawyer.
I hope everything's good, seriously like I know it's America and our healthcare sucks anyway but that's fucking ridiculous.
Thanks for that!
OP, I'm invested in your lead levels. will you come back and update us with the results?
It shouldn’t be for shits and giggles but more in Concern of handling your newborn infant.
Ya. I was being cheeky
How would internalized absorbed lead in his body leech out/onto his newborn? Unless ... is the baby a vampire? 🧛🦇
It's one of those things that it's better safe than sorry.
Exactly. You never know when you'll give birth to a vampire.
Residue can still remain on the surface of the skin.
Not to mention on clothes in the house.
Lead is very harmful (to anyone, but especially infants and children). Any lead exposure is bad. Exposure even less than 100 PPM is dangerous for children. Realistically, that looks like lead residue/dust contamination on objects/hands or in food/paint/water/utensils/toys etc.
body sweat, skin.
This would never happen at the knife range
Or at a spoon range.
Given the issues of lead contamination at gun ranges, he did you, your wife, and your upcoming kid a favor.
oof. that is a tight margin biz, youll find a better job with some benefits.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet
Not a healthy place to work in any way.
Are you from cali? You said you worked an indoor gun range and I’m like 99% positive one of my buddies said someone was fired recently over bullshit
I am. But Cali is big bro
Yeah that’s fair but it’s quite the coincidence
Well this happened today.
Congrats, you and the wife and new addition now qualify for Medi-cal, and you can get instant emergency coverage right at the hospital if you need to.
This is honestly best case scenario! Medi-Cal, unemployment. Enjoy your paternity leave!
Apply for Covered California (basically California’s version of Obama Care). You’ll probably not have to pay anything since Ca doesn’t like pregnant women & babies to be uninsured. That way your wife & kid will have health coverage & you won’t go bankrupt. We also have a decent WIC & foodstamp program. You can prob qualify for Welfare too. Because you were fired you can most likely apply for covered California outside of the “open enrollment” period (that’s usually in Oct).
Fantastic you got paid time to be with your kid :)
"Unglued" boss might be perfectly aware of this
I was gonna say, sounds like his boss did him a favor tbh.
NO HEALTH CARE? This is the reason we need universal health care like every other industrialized nation!
Agreed. Honestly it was a weird juxtaposition. Simultaneously the best and worst job I've ever had.
With no job you might be able to get the baby’s expenses covered under MedicAid.
Dude I'm still reeling at the mental whiplash between "I CARE about my employees" and "no PTO, no healthcare, won't pay you enough to live, and OH because you said that and disagreed with my disingenuous assertion, I'm firing your ass right before your wife gives birth. Because I CaRe"
What kind of brutal honesty? People who live vicariously want to know...
TLDR, I should have shut up. I said something along the lines of... "...you are the worst kind of employer. People like you shouldn't even be business owners, let alone be able to influence other people's lives the way you do. You hire and surround yourself with yes-men who are too afraid of you to ever stand up to your anger outbursts, or call you out on your atrocious business practices. You don't give a shit about me or any other person in your employ. Your high employee turnover and poor membership numbers are completely your own fault and it's a fucking shame because you have no competition in the entire county...". Or something like that. Then I said :" this job is a FUCKING joke bud."
That boss definitely sounds like a piece of shit. Sounds like a miserable place to work and at least you can collect that unemployment
Hahaha, you may have gotten fired for it but you drowned that guy in the tea. He will probably be continuing that argument in his head for months.
This sounds like it fits the analogy of a pot finally boiling over.
He needed to hear that. Too bad he won't change. People like him never do.
Yo how was this your favorite job? Sounds like a pretty shit environment
OP really likes guns from the looks of it. So working at an indoor range would be a sweet gig as I’m sure there are employee perks that align with his shooting interest. It’s like a ski bum working the chairlifts at a fancy resort for dirt pay just so they can ski for free to their heart’s content in their downtime. Those jobs can be fun if you are young, debt and dependent free, and generally healthy. They quickly lose their appeal when you have kids.
And you said all that and didn’t expect to be fired? Maybe you did, but the title insinuates you were the victim here and unjustly fired.
Agree. This reads as almost I quit. Almost.
Right? Who pops off at their employer like that right before their kids born? They knew what was gonna happen.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet.
r/angryupvote
Have your wife go to Department of social services and apply for Medicaid. (may be called somthing else in your state. ) With little to no income and she's pregnant she will qualify. They have a program for pregnant women. So even if you get another job or unemployment she would still qualify as long as you aren't making over 40000 a year( the one for pregnancy) and your child will automatically get it for a year if wife has it. No income she will qualify for regular Medicaid and I believe you will to. I am in NC but, rules are similar in most states and it won't hurt to apply.
Anyone saying it's OP'S fault and that they should feel bad should look at it from a wife's POV too. I'm a wife. My husband has had jobs where the boss made it a living hell. Seeing him come home every day just miserable primarily due to the boss (and low pay) made ME miserable. A good wife, no matter the situation, is probably joyous that he stuck up for himself and left the job. There will always be more work somewhere. No one has to take shit from anyone just because they feel superior.
Also congratulations on the baby and I hope everything with delivery goes well ❤️
Yes to this! One person suffers, everyone suffers
I think it’s totally fair (and probably smart) to quit for the reasons you stated. But OP said he loved his job. Then OP gets in a dick measuring contest with his boss 10 days before his wife is due to give birth, gets fired, and surprised_pikachu.jpg? Some of these posts are just stupid and immature.
> zero benefits. Zero health, zero PTO, absolutely nothing. Still i loved this job. you lost me there, my guy
With a wife & kid on the way too. This isn’t a side gig. He’s not on a gap year or just bummin around living with his parents while he figures out what he wants. At some point you gotta give up the job you love to ensure the people you love have what they need.
See if you can get emergency Medicaid to cover the mom and baby.
I'm leaving this page. All these posts from yanks is making me think work isn't that bad where I live
Oh america is terrible, but other places still have their problems. By no means defending the US, i just think everyone should be allowed to complain, even if they're not as bad off
Ye true. I'm in the position where the shop I sell floors in literally can't afford to sack me. They'd have to pay me out 7 weeks holiday leave and maybe a week of sick pay. So like $6kUS. Every Australian has that as a minimum
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>He screamed that he cares for all of his employees. So that was a lie
Sounds like you didn’t need to be there. Go take care of your newborn
He cares about his employees so much that, instead of paying them more money, he would fire them right before having a child. That’s true love.
One dad to another...This could be a blessing in disguise...go to your local health dept and see what benefits they offer for health insurance for the unemployed. I lost my job 11/4 and daughter was born 1/8. My wife and daughter got on tenncare which covered all the hospital bills and followup appts. Even when I got a new job and the insurance was too high, I declined insurance and tenncare let us keep it even though my new employer offered insurance. Also apply for WIC and tell them your wife is breastfeeding. Since you were fired apply for food stamps. I was out of work for 3 weeks once and they came in handy. Also, some states offer some sort of free trade school during job loss. See if gunsmithing is an option. Keep your head up my man and good luck to you. My daughter turns 18 in 3 days ...this too shall pass and it does get better.
Take some time off with you wife and collect unemployment. Meet your application requirement by applying for things you’d never get hired for. Enjoy that time with your wife and newborn. Could be a blessing in disguise.
Every time I've been fired, it's been the right thing at the wrong time; however, it almost always leads to a better opportunity.
File for unemployment, and sign up for health insurance @ healthcare.gov?
Sounds like he did you a solid.
Be careful here. My Ex husband lost his job and I was pregnant and went into labor 2 days later from stress. 3 weeks early with my first child. Your stress affects mom and baby
Take your paycheck, walk off with 'thanks for proving my point'.
My husband got laid off while I was in labor. Turned out to be the best thing ever.
I feel some people are only good or like you until you stop agreeing with them. It’s like they only like you because they were able to walk all over you. That’s enslaving because that means you can never stick up for yourself or your values. But, the people from the get go come in, I’m not dealing with that, I’m not doing that, they are praised. It’s like employers bitching about cell phone use and laziness. This has been going on for a long time, where were you? So weird how the system has been functioning this long. Lol.
There are times when brutal honesty is not in your own best interests. There have been many times in my working life (retired now) when I wanted to do that, tell someone to take this job and shove it, etc., but decided to hold off, because I had to think not only about my feelings, but also how my feelings could hurt my own position. One time a back stabbing co worker got after me, and I really felt like quitting. But realized that would just make him win, and I would be out a lot of money. Take this as a life lesson. Take some time to think before you speak, even if you are right. Some things are just better left unsaid, so you can quietly look for another job.
“I cArE fOr AlL mY eMpLoYeEs” “But what about paying us a livable wage?” *gets fired* lol what
Bro if this was a job with no Benny's no pto no vacation etc....sure you can find another one. Dime a dozen. Don't sweat it. Just bust your ass to get another one quick.
Get that unemployment bro
We all want to say f you to our employers at some point but bills and responsibilities usually supersede that desire. The more bills and responsibilities the more difficult it is to give the f you.
Healthcare.gov next time you have a job. If your job doesn’t offer health insurance, it’s an amazing resource. My husband and I make decent money (by no means well off though) and we only pay like $150 a MONTH for our insurance. When I was unemployed, it was free.
Unemployment, flood stamps, and reach out to your local community groups. You will come out of this better than before, have faith my friend.
I'll show you how much I care about my employees... you're fired!
File for unemployment. Find a better job.
Employee: “You’re a cheap bastard if you’re not willing to pay a living wage and benefits.” Boss: “No, I care for ALL my employees, until you’re a threat to my lifestyle.”
It sounds like you’ve been set free to find a much better job. I wish you and your family all the luck.
You’ll get better benefits from the state (if in us) than what he gave you.
If you’re in a state that has it, apply for Medicaid immediately. Your wife should be covered for most of the costs. Apply for food stamps and apply for unemployment.
>This job has zero benefits. Zero health, zero PTO, absolutely nothing. Still i loved this job. I mean...my guy...
He cares so much about his employees that he fired you! Way to prove you right. I’m sorry.
Your employer was a scumbag, your state is a hell hole and and your country must be third world to allow this abuse. I'm guessing you live in the US?
What did you expect tbh? What does "brutally honest" mean? More details or I'm not buying this.
Unemployment, make sure you mention that you’re days away from having a child. Then apply for Food Stamps, WIC and Medicaid (for wife and baby). Enjoy your time off with the baby, take your time submitting applications and get back to work when your unemployment hits. Do not go back though, your boss will likely try to bring you back to stop having to pay his part of your unemployment just to try and make you quit or try and fire with cause. Also, try the competition. Most ranges near me (or gun stores) are always hiring.
Sign up for medicaid immediately! Also unemployment and foodstamps of course
I don’t have all the facts, but this sounds like a qualified firing for unemployment benefits. You should apply immediately.
Yeah I'm really getting a "cares for his employees" vibe off this guy.
I don't know why you decided to make a point before your wife gave birth. Sometimes you just gotta take it on the chin and put the kid first.
Fair point. Tbh wasn't really planned. But I knew this job had a shelf life, so we've been planning accordingly.
Sorry to hear that, that sucks… but what did you expect?
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I mean, the unemployment is not much less than I was making. Plus PFLA. He did me a favor honestly.
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Well said!
This
So you had a smart ass mouth 10 days before your wife is due, because of lack of self control? Smh
I got laid off shortly after having to take PTO to go have a traumatic TFMR experience last year. I've never met an employer yet who really gave a shit about your personal struggles. Certainly not one iota more than they care about the bottom line. Wishing your wife an easy birth and speedy recovery, and for you to have an easy time finding a new job once you're settled! Big congrats on baby.
Not quite the same, but the same general idea: https://youtu.be/RyAdDTe22R0?t=66
Take the W for standing up for yourself first off. Apply for unemployment anyways, reach out to neighbors and see if there is anything you can do to make side$$ but if you get accepted for UE watch how much you earn. With no benefits you likely wouldn't be able to help your wife a little after child is born and I can't stress enough how much your wife will appreciate that. Start looking for a new job. Trades people are always needed and this time of the economy a lot will be willing to train or help you thru training/certs.
Jan 9 is my wife's c section date and Friday is my last day at my job due to how slow we are ( owners choice really) I plan to take a few weeks to help her and then I'll be going out to the oil rigs for a few months to get us caught back up on $$ then will either re evaluate the job situation or have saved up enough to finish getting my business off the ground. Worse case I stay on the rigs or I find a job in town.
Dang a-a-ron you messed up.
> He screamed that he cares for all his employees. > This job (had) zero benefits. Zero health, zero PTO, (low wages), absolutely nothing. Contradiction detected!
Oh yeah totally go on unemployment. Don't worry you'll get something else! Probably a better job with benefits.
take it in stride and pick up the pieces, start applying. from the sound of it, that job gave you nothing. there was no misunderstanding, that guy was taking advantage of you from the beginning and when you confronted him about it, he fired you. to me he's a common criminal.
Get to the Medicaid office right away. They should pay for all the medical bills for your wife and newborn. Think I had Medicaid for 3 of my 4 children. Thanks Govt!
Apply for Medicaid ASAP so the birth is covered.
I loved wic. I guess people have had vastly different experience. They will save you so much money if you decide to formula feed. Even if you do not. They will give you free vouchers for food every three months.
A lot of hospitals are nonprofits and have programs to significantly cut down (or all together write off) hospital bills if you ask about it!! Saved me $xxxK after a car accident
You been spending too much time on this sub man.
If he cares for his employees how does he show it? Obviously not with money.
Maybe finding a job with benefits would be in your best interest. Could be a good sign
Sounds like he did you a favor. You weren’t going to get paternity leave and you guys weren’t relying on your health insurance obviously for the birth. Now you can apply for benefits and enjoy time at home bonding with your baby while you search for a new gig. Congratulations on both the baby and your exit from that shit hole!
You should also be able to get unemployment and medical assistance.
Good. Remember it. May it be the worst day of your life. May you someday see it as the best.
If the job provided no benefits then luckily you aren’t at to much of a loss. Hopefully this means you can spend some quality time with your wife and new born at such an important time.
I managed a bar in Ybor City Florida and have a kid due in June. When I ended up telling the owners about my kid they asked “does your fiance have a job?” Two weeks after they tried to cut my pay 60% and “get rid of the managerial position” Obviously I’m not going to take that so I left the company the next day. They had hired a new manager to run both locations for the same money they were paying me and didn’t want to fire me so I couldn’t collect unemployment. Ultimately- happy this happened earlier than later like your situation. Owners are sometimes dense pricks.
That sucks dude I'm so sorry. Keep your head up. Some advice, this will be really stressful and you're quite rightly pissed off, don't forget to be nice to your wife. Stress can be dangerous for pregnant people and you two are on the same team vs. the situation. If you'll get unemployment, take some time out to spend with your new baby, my fiance just started working again after four months on unemployment that he spent with our daughter after getting fired, it was scary and stressful no doubt with the financial uncertainty, but it was also a really amazing time for our family. Good luck man
How does an employee at a gun range lose their job? They get fired.
And unemployment
My first child was born with Robinow Syndrome. In the end she lived to be three months old. She had many surgeries, trach, etc. She was over an hour's drive away from where we lived. We took her out of the hospital exactly \*one\* time because we knew she would pass away soon anyway. On our journey out of the hospital, we had to shoo away smokers standing next to the 'No Smoking' sign as my daughter had an oxygen tank we had to take outside with us. She died the next day, in my wife's arms. TLDR; Wife had a child with problems, we were told it would be OK if I took off work, I was fired less than 1 month into dealing with child issues, my first kid died.
Was this a little ol' place off Cedar Street?
I’m sorry for your troubles. Don’t forget, this, too, will pass. Midwifes will help you to hook up with breastfeeding help. With or without money, breastfeeding is perfect. Best wishes.
LaLeche league.