your business manager should walk you through steps on what to do for being laid off. Companies do this frequently and for many reasons. What you may want to do first thing tomorrow morning is reach out to the local company in your area that provides unemployment pay as they will be able to walk you through on the steps to do next. HR may be able to also provide some guidance to you on this matter but your best bet is to contact the state office as they will walk you through the next steps.

Did you receive good reviews while working there? Did you get along well with your immediate supervisor and manager?

Since they're calling it a layoff, ask for a letter of recommendation to be given to you, made out to "To Whom It May Concern" to present to companies you apply to. You may also use it if the company tries to say you were fired for cause so they don't have to pay into UE for you. You may also try writing up one yourself, based upon your last performance review, and presenting it to your supervisor/manager to sign, if s/he is amenable to doing that.

@Randall Bird, here is a great starting point: Layoff Procedure Requirements | Office of Financial Management

If it was me I would talk to a lawyer and find out what exactly the law is. It sounds to me like they did a few things wrong in that meeting. First of all there should always be 2 or 3 people in a termination meeting. One being an HR representative. This protects you and the company.

I was just laid off on Oct 17th. My manager stated that the loan officer wanted to go with his homeboy as his processor even though I was hired first. I just started to file for unemployment and don’t forget to get a letter from your HR dept showing when you were laid off. First time in my life of working for the past 34 years that I’ve ever had to ask for unemployment. Depending on what state you are in, it can be a pretty easy process. I’m in Texas so I just went to www.TWC.Texas.gov and started to create my own login/password and they take you step by step of what needs to be done. I think in my state the maximum weekly payout of $563.

Good luck to you! I’m sure you’ll have a new job before your unemployment benefits even kick in.

Laid off does not mean terminated. You can go to your state agency and file for unemployment. Did yo ask questions such as how long the lay off would be?

They are not required to offer a severance package but must have final check to you within 24 hours in Colorado. You will be entitled to unemployment apply today it takes time to process

I would send HR an email documenting this...not everyone gets a serverance package so definately contact the company's HR...

I’ve had the same experience, I did receive my last check, cobra options a couple weeks later, but no letter at time of layoff. I thought it was pretty unprofessional, but I moved forward and applied for unemployment in which I was approved. Hang in there

Laid off means you are eligible for unemployment. Most (not all) companies would have your last paycheck ready which should include accrued time off (vacation, sick pay) You should have received a letter stating reason for lay-off with effective date (to use for unemployment purposes and verification for potential employers) along with papers outlining severance pay, breakdown of paid time off, how to contact your 401k company, cobra insurance options, etc. if you did not receive any of this, you should contact HR immediately.