This economic time is new.  Deficit Trillion dollars spending while jobs are being cut by the hundreds of thousands monthly is scary.  Right now I am unemployed.  The market is tough; I can tell that businesses are getting a lot of resumes and applicants.  The main thing I would stress is not to panic and not to worry (too much).  America has seen ups and downs in the economy and we are not in a great depression era (25% unemployment) or early 1980’s (10-12%) with high inflation times like then.  In fact, we in the United States are still below 8%.    That is a huge difference.  Should we be concerned, “YES;”  should we panic “NO”. 

What steps you can take, if you have been laid off or unemployed is look to your state unemployment website for help.  Here in Washington State it is http://www.esd.wa.gov/ .   Next step is to ask yourself if you have been paid all your back wages owed.  Every state is different but there is an unemployment benefits website. 

Now most of you are saying you know this okay but here is what is important.  What if you have a dispute on your last paycheck?  What if you are not getting all your vacation paid to you or sick leave?  How do you dispute that without hiring a lawyer?  I would recommend searching on Google for your state “disputing pay from employer.”   There are many examples of how an employer can take advantage of these issues.  If you don’t know where to start call up your state’s department (labor commission, labor and industries, etc.) and talk to someone personally and ask questions.  They can point you in the right direction.  Now that the economy is down employee disputes are rising because companies are trying to save money (that is probably why you where laid off in the first place.)  This is free it doesn’t cost any money.   

You can also take your former employer to small claim court usually the maximum amount you can file for is 5,000.00 dollars.  There should just be a 25.00 dollar filing fee and you get to plead your case in front of a judge.  Kind of like Judge Judy show.  If you think that you need proper legal advice, please consult an attorney but beware that it could cost a lot.