Termination Of Employment To: Human Resources Department From: Date: Re: Termination: Fill & Download for Free

As a Human Resource professional, I was the (adjudicator), who was responsible for determining the validity of all background and hiring components for every candidate and employee. Our organization was comprised of approximately 8k employees. I was the one responsible for ensuring that candidate’s current employers were not contacted prematurely. There are checks and balances to ensure confidentiality. That’s how serious our organization is about protecting the confidentiality and privacy of every applicant. The employment verification process is unique to each organization.Many applicants are not aware that many, if not most organizations, provide future employers with only the applicant’s position/title, and the dates of their employment only. That’s correct, that is all the information we receive. This is because the threat and potential for defamation suits is a real concern and employers do not want to suffer that risk.Taken a step further, as adjudicator, I only evaluated the applicant’s application and background screens to avoid the very appearance of discrimination to protect our organization from lawsuits. We have offices all across the country, and I have never met, or spoken to any applicants. That is the responsibility of our recruiters.Confidentiality is the primary concern for both the applicant and employer, and HR departments take every precaution to protect the privacy of all applicants.On our application, it asks for and obtains the applicant’s consent before verifying their past employers. It will also ask for and obtain consent to contact their current employer. If the applicant says, “Do Not Contact Current Employer,” the recruiter is alerted and will act accordingly. We must have their signed consent on file.Our organization uses a 3rd party vendor to process our background investigations. It has a vast repository of federal, national, and state databases that are capable of reporting past and current employment without alerting the applicant’s current employer. (Cool, huh?) The background report can even inform HR of the reason an employee was terminated from their previous positions.After every component of the background screen has been successfully completed, including verification of your identity, social security number, I-9, criminal background screen, financial/credit screen, drug screen, verification of professional license, education verification, driver license record, etc., the assumption is made that if the end date of their current employer is current, they should be eligible for re-hire and an offer is extended.I’ve also worked for smaller HR organizations. Usually, they actually call former and current employers the old fashioned way. They are able to obtain the candidate’s position/title, dates of employment, and sometimes their eligibility for rehire status. They will only contact your “current employer” after every background component is successfully clear and you have given permission to verify your current employer. Offers are then extended upon successful verification of the applicant’s current position.HR understands the gravity of making a premature verification and takes steps to ensure that this final step happens at the right time. We also understand that employers are not always cooperative and honest.Here is a tip, call, or have someone else call your previous employers to learn what information is provided to potential and future employers, it will save you needless worry, or at minimum, mitigate any potential negative verifications.Bottom line, it is difficult for potential employers to obtain information about candidates that could be potentially damaging. So, no need to be overly concerned.

Make professional contacts with managers in other departments at your company before you are actually out the door and see if any might be hiring internally. Look at your company’s internal website job postings site. Immediately apply for any and every internal job posting that is reasonable.Clean out your desk of personal items and from your work computer’s hard drive even if you still have another day. It is better that you do it, then for your boss and for security to meet you tomorrow with a box of your stuff in their hands.Even if tomorrow starts like any other workday, at any point, you could get a tap on the shoulder and be informed that you have 60 minutes to gather all of your possessions and after which time security might escort you to the door. It might take longer than that to copy any personal files or emails from your company computer (not that I condone this, but it is fact that many people, either on purpose or on accident, have family photos and other personal documents on their employer’s work computer).Talk with an attorney regarding the conditions in which your employment ended and before accepting a severance package. It might be possible to negotiate severance and benefits. However, do not initiate litigation just to milk every last dollar, especially if there is a chance that a different department in the same company might rehire you. Only litigate if there truly is a profound injustice that is being levied against you and putting an undue burden on your shoulders. Employment law is not a lucrative market for attorneys and very few earn very good living practicing employment law, mainly because the law is stacked in favor of employers, not employees, and it is very rare for any employee, even if there is a significant injustice, to prevail. Large employers have a legal council team on-salary and have a large war-chest of funds to litigate than you have saved (otherwise you would already be retired). Some corporations have been known to forge or even manufacture phony employee poor-performance documents in an attempt to discredit a plaintiff. So unless you have an airtight case of wrongful termination that will pass legal muster, especially if in a state that has at-will employment, then it is better to negotiate than litigate.Learn what you options are regarding continuation of benefits. Unfortunately, this usually comes at not just a cost, but a high cost that is no longer subsidized by an employer, and that you no longer have a salary to help pay your portion either. Regardless if you can afford continuation of benefits at the previous level per your former employment, at least learn what your options are and what might be within your means, especially if you have been fortunate to have saved a lot of money.Leave on good terms if this is possible. Rarely does not make sense to burn bridges, not matter what the injustice or set of circumstances. People do not change their personalities and rarely are even insightful enough to recognize that they are ever wrong about anything in the first place, or even if they feel guilty about anything, they are almost often too defensive to reflect upon their actions or ways . Rarely can anyone ever change anyone else, nor should anyone even try. Punishing someone else, a former boss, coworkers, their management or human resources department accomplishes nothing: they will only see this as your own disgruntled personality malfunction and not what most people want: for all employees and management to somehow collectively-reflect upon their own misdeeds and somehow come to their senses, apologize, make amends and change their ways. I doubt that employee retaliation has ever once, throughout the course of human history, ever resulted in the fantasy of a boss or employer being taught a lesson, and then for the company to actually admit wrong and rehire the employee. Misbehaving is only a poor reflection on you that could potentially follow you to the ears of a future prospective employer, quashing future employment opportunities. Stay above the fray and depart with dignity.File for unemployment. You have likely paid-into it, it is your money to draw from. Obtain these funds and then use them sparingly to pay your bills to get you by until you can re-secure employment.Assess amount of funds that you have in savings and emergency funds. Also assess if there is anything that you can sell, such as a third car or truck that rarely gets used.Update your resume with the latest experience that you have developed in your professional career. Proofread your resume at least three times, first looking at content, choice of words and spacing, then looking at grammar and finally, looking at spelling. Then enlist as many other people as possible to do the same.Get out there and find employment as soon as possible. Post your resume and profile on internet job boards, attend career fairs and hire a headhunter but negotiate the fee in-advance. Initially look for a career move that is lateral to your current position and salary. However, as time goes one, then you may be put in a position to accept less simply to be able to re-secure employment. Do not just take any job, especially in your profession, unless you plan to stay there.If necessary, take a temporary job that is outside of your profession in the meantime to keep paying the bills.Abruptly-halt any spending of any money except for what is absolutely-essential to survival. Avoid being late paying bills, but if necessary negotiate a payment plan with service providers, such as electricity, heat and internet. Make your mortgage payment first before anything else, car payment second, credit cards third and services and utilities fourth.Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate with creditors. Make a plan that you can achieve, giving yourself enough breathing room but also being fair to who you own money.Get your family on-board to support you and your efforts. Explain to them what needs to be done, why and how they can help, and get them focused on helping, not complaining or being a distraction. Get the rest of your family members to get jobs bringing in money to pay the bills.Get your family, friends and relatives rallying behind you. But have a plan first about what you are doing to get back on-track, what you are doing, where you are interviewing, what type of job and what your plan is to keep trying. Minimize the sob-story aspect and focus your presentation on what productive things that you have done, are currently doing, and your plan for the future - not what “happened” to you - but what you plan to do about it. Respectfully, every human being that has ever lived, past, present or future, has been the victim of something or someone at some point in their life - the different is a matter of degree, but otherwise, join the club. We all have endured our own pain, dealt with office politics and crazy bosses - and unless your story rises to the level of profound injustice that your plight is reported by the media, then chances are, most people want to hear as little as possible. People will help people who help themselves, and this means having goals, a plan, away to get there and demonstrating actions that show a promising progression and efforts to actually reach those goals.Do not over-promise and under-deliver and do not bullshit people. If you say that you are going to do something, then do it, but do not make excuses. If you got let go from a job making $50,000.00 per year, don’t tell friends, family and creditors that within a week, you will easily have another job making the same money - unless you have something to back this up, like the fact that you have already had multiple rounds of interviews for prospective employers and all appears promising. Even so, do not promise what you cannot - it is outside of your control if you will even be offered a job. Promise what you can: I have an interview set up at company xyz for position abc. Afterwards I am attending two job fairs, both of which have a promising roster of potential employers.These are the promises that you tell people who are considering helping you - not that you will suddenly have a full time job making loads of money in a short period of time - unless you actually have an offer letter in your hand.Tell people what you are doing, but do not promise outcomes. If someone asks how long do you plan to remain unemployed, then tell them “As short as possible. I have pulled together all resources that I have, am determined and absolutely-focused in regaining permanent career employment in my profession as my number one priority at this time and will not stop until I accomplish this objective”.If I was a friend and I heard a well-dressed and composed friend utter these words, then I might even feel compelled to go against my own instincts and offer a modest stipend of financial assistance. But if I heard a friend tell me that he was going to be a millionaire next week, then I might just end the friendship altogether.Staying-focused on the job search is one way that family and friends can help that does not involve anyone giving anyone any money: but letting you focus on only the job search and not getting distracted or detailed by family needs. Enlist their help to look after kids and take care of their needs, or running an errand because you have a job interview - so that you can take care of your professional needs - getting a job quickly.Avoid asking anyone for money and instead, ask them for their time so that you can stay focused on the job search and interviews. Do not get derailed with household chores or getting Billy to baseball practice or Tammy to gymnastics, or make 200 cupcakes for tomorrow for Michael’s 3rd grade class after he told you at 10:00 pm the night before. Billy might have to drop baseball, Tammy might have to drop gymnastics and Michael might not be able to bring cupcakes to school. We all have to make sacrifices in these kinds of situations, and the sooner that your own kids realize that you as a family are all in this together, the better and his involves them making sacrifices too. Welcome to the real world.The “family talk” needs to convey that your job loss is a potential crisis, that if not handled diligent, could cause your family to lose everything. This will likely be a rude awakening for kids, who are comfortable and do not want their world disrupted, and likely have some sense of entitlement that they have the right to what they have always known.If it were me, I would be asking for their help and support, and then explain what that help and support looks like: 1) Solve your own problems. If the remote control for the tv does not work, try looking for a AA battery first, before pulling me away from my job search. 2) Maybe pitch-in and learn how to do your laundry , run the dishwasher, vacuum and microwave your own dinner. But the main thing: do not add things to my plate, more problems to solve that you can solve yourself, or that your other sibling can solve.Let’s say your daughter is getting ready to have her sweet 16th birthday. Of course I would not be such a miser as to not celebrate it all, but instead, do it on a budget as creatively as possible that still does justice to making her feel good, but might not be the birthday party that you hoped to give her. Ask her for please understand, that once you are back on your feet, that you will do something very nice for her 18th birthday. Verbiage like, “Your Mom and I are doing the best that we can being placed in a very difficult situation and set of circumstances. We want to do right by you and provide for you the best that we can, but at this point, this might be the best that we can do here, and I hope that his is good enough for you”. Obviously it is reasonable to spare the money to buy a cake and provide for one modest gift that is meaningful. But this is not the time to buy her a car, or to drop thousands of dollars of gifts and then not be able to make your house payment next month.Pick your battles and streamline your life. Get your wife to be the go-to point-person to run interference while you look for work full-time.Get things picked up around the house and make them stay that way. This is not the time to be getting a dog because Jimmy is asking how much is that cute puppy in the window. Do not take on new things that distract your from what you need to do. This is not the time to plant a garden, take a vacation or do anything that takes time away, energy, effort or money from looking for a job. Get friends and family to do some of the essentials, if they love you and care about you, they will just be glad that you have not asked them for money yet.Be careful: if you ask for their help to run errands, then you really need to be out looking for work and don’t let them see you relaxing for one single second. If you are exhausted to the point where you cannot function, then drive to a parking lot, lock the doors and take a nap to get some much-needed rest. Otherwise, if you are caught napping at home, this sends the wrong message, that you are not even trying to find work, that you are instead just sleeping all day.The attitude and demeanor to maintain, this is the most pragmatic with getting people to help and best manage perceptions is one of, “I am working hard, doing the best that I can with the resource that I have, while I am hopefully-optimistic, I am staying focused on what I need to be doing and working towards the goal of regaining permanent employment”. A heads-down, humbled, nose-to-the-grindstone approach yet with steady, relentless perseverance.It is hard to fault anyone when they are truly trying their best. While a hard-nosed boss or stockholder does not care about effort - they only care about results - most people - family, friends, relatives and neighbors have a bit of a softer heart of compassion. If they consistently see you out trying your best, always wearing a suit, pressed-shirt and tie, donning a briefcase, then that can go a long way to getting assistance.Make sure that you project that image of yourself. If you have some downtime in which you simply have time that you cannot otherwise productively use, and need to take a break, then do so out of the potentially judgmental eyes of family, friends or relatives.Don’t be in some bar drinking the pain away, because like Murphy’s Law, someone will likely find out, and then fewer people will be willing to help. If you drink or take any drugs (legal or not) this might be a good time to stop for awhile - not because of the morality police, but in order to manage perceptions. If you are spending money on these things that other people might see in a less-favorable light, they might be less likely to help you. This time is also about managing perceptions. After you get a job and your life back in order, then if you can afford it, buy all the booze and drugs you want, just don’t screw up the new job that you just got or any part of the rest of your life either.Do whatever is possible to keep your home out of foreclosure, even if this means selling your car and riding a bicycle to job interviews or taking Uber or Lyft. The only time to cash-out an IRA or 401k is if you are in imminent danger of defaulting 15 days after the due date on your mortgage unless you quickly obtain funds.If you are age 55 or over, then a unexpected job loss is one area in which you are able to draw from retirement savings without paying a 10% penalty.Usually you have up to a 30-day grace period, almost always at least a 15-day grace period before being late paying your mortgage will affect your credit. Being late 1–5 days paying your mortgage will have no effect, you will only get a notice asking you if you forgot to make your house payment. After 15-days, then the train wreck starts and moved into high-gear the first time that you are 30 days past due. Consider talking with your banker and negotiating with your bank, but do some research first before opening up this kimono because of the catch-22: without a job, the approval process with any creditor is going to become more difficult. Chances are, your employer did not call your bank and inform them that you lost your job, so until the same is disclosed, by you, to your bank, then the same terms that you enjoy with your credit will continue into perpetuity. Of course, people are required to disclose their employment status for NEW loans, but nothing further disclosures are required for EXISTING loans. Have a plan before you talk with your bank and get some expert advice. Before meeting with anyone, know what to say and what to ask for.Sell anything you can: clothes that still have the price tags on them, anything that is unopened, especially if you still have the receipt. Any building supplies purchased for a project that did not get done. If you can return it, then take the time to do it to raise some cash. Even if it is is only returnable for a store credit, for example at a big box retail store that sells laundry detergent, if you also bought clothes there that still have the price tags, return the clothes in exchange for essentials.If there are no other options, then cash-out your retirement accounts to pay your mortgage - but only as a last-resort after you have exhausted all other options first to raise money.Once your mortgage goes 90 days or more past due, then you are getting into big trouble, and at any point, you will be quickly running out of options. On, near, or just-before 120 days past due on your mortgage, unless action is taken to cure the foreclosure, negotiate or sell the property, you can expect for the country Sheriff to drop by and evict you.Stay away from “Pay Loan” businesses and ascertain the credibility of any Consumer Debt Consolidation program. If they are a private business, then their objective is to make money, not help you. If they are an established community 501c3 non-profit, then it is likely that you might be able to trust them to help you in your predicament.If necessary, explore social services, government services and community services in your area to provide assistance in the stop-gap period.Start a small business that requires a small amount of start-up costs but is viable, especially a service business that relies heavily on your skills, but does not require a building, lease, equipment or supplies.Start a Go-Fund-Me page that explains your predicament.A usual worst-case scenario is being forced to take employment that is sub-par to your professional skill set and also take a part time job as well to close the gap needed to keep paying the bills. But don’t give up trying to find the career position at the level from the job where you previously were in your employment. These setbacks can be difficult and result in sacrifice and struggle.Do whatever is possible to eventually retain the level of employment with the same (or better?) level of compensation and benefits that you enjoyed before.In 2001, I was laid-off as a consultant as the technology industry job market was adjusting. I immediately filed for unemployment when helped me get by. My parents had confused or conflated unemployment compensation with welfare, and I needed to explain the difference.Just prior to getting laid off back in 2001, my boss (who did not want to lay me off but had to) assisted me with making internal contact within the company. Before I was actually let go, I applied for as many internal jobs as I could with other departments.At that time, my unemployment benefited ended after three months, and in the meantime, I picked up work as a mortgage broker during an time in which many people were refinancing and worked doing this for a month and a half.During this time, I got a call from my former employer, from a hiring manager in one of these different departments where I had applied for a position while I was still an internal employee. I had three interviews, then waited for a long time to receive news (a large corporation has a endless rounds of approvals needed for a new hire or even to rehire a previous employee) and eventually after nearly giving up, I finally got that magic telephone call out of the blue with a job offer. I accepted, then several weeks later, received the official letter with an actual start date. I have been working in this same position with the same employer who hired me now for the last 18 years.This is a difficult thing to go through in life and it is very easy to lose motivation and fall into despair, question self-worth and even lose your identity when you are no longer employed. But stay persistent and engaged with any possible opportunity, accepting rejection along the way, but knowing that there is hope but you have to make some really good choices, even if they are painful or are uncomfortable or involve painful sacrifice.A word about focus: with family and friends, people do not always understand and are happy to pull you 27 different direction. “Oh, how is that job searching coming along? Hey, can you help me install a new kitchen sink this week? The big game is coming on. Like to have you for dinner (which will consume the entire night).Two years ago, I had a intense professional certification exam that was required for me to successfully study-for and pass, and it took most of my fellow professional colleagues 1–4 times to pass the exam. My very lifelihood depending on passing an exam from hell. Unfortunately, no one in my household, friends or neighbors seemed to have a clue that I needed long blocks of time, hours on end, for the next several months without any interruptions unless someone was in the hospital or unless my house burned down. I do not want to be bothered to tell you that those pants make your butt look big.Explaining that I had a professional responsibility meant nothing to them - because they never had faced the same pressure and could not relate. It was only a distraction when 20 well-meaning friends found it necessary to call me every day, 20 phone calls in all, just to ask “how’s studying going?”. Well, it would be going great if you had not called me and broke my concentration just as I was finally just-beginning to understand what I am trying to study, and now have to find my place again, start all over, now for the 20th time in 10 minutes!In order to study, I turned my phone off and stayed and work and went into empty conference rooms in my office at work and did this for a year of studying Three days before taking the exam, I turned off my cell phone, checked into the Marriott, told no one except for one-single highly-trusted person where I was staying, what room number or how to contact me, and that everyone else in my life would have to be filtered through that one single trusted person. I had that one single trusted person know precisely what meets the threshold for calling me, and no “good luck” or “just checking on you” calls, unless there is a major emergency, then I will see you the afternoon after I take the exam. Otherwise, I want zero distraction of any kind - period!As radical as this approach was, it actually worked, and I passed the exam after the third try, with scores of 100% and 95%.A variation of this approach might be necessary for an effective job search. In many cases, people do not understand, especially kids. They want what they want, and likely that is you. Friends are the same way. People are selfish, they want to consume your time, smile, laugh, play and have fun. There is a time for all of that, but sometimes, not all of that can be accommodated. Sometimes there is a time to buckle-down, make sacrifices and effect-change by taking a stealth approach to find that job and make it happen. Do what you have to do.

Interesting that you should ask. Just a week or so ago, I ran across a list of Trump’s accomplishments in just 24 months in office. Just to compare, I also looked up Joe Biden’s record of accomplishments made in 44 years of service.I’ll list Joe’s first…1960: “[O]ne of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach.” — E. John Walsh, football coach at Archmere Academy.1965: Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in Newark, with a double major in history and political science and a minor in English.1968: Graduated from Syracuse University College of Law with a law degree.1969: Admitted to the Delaware bar.1970-72: Served on New Castle County Council.1972-77: Single parent to two sons, commuting on Amtrak 75 minutes each way between his home in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C.Joe Biden: Senate accomplishments1973-2009: U.S. Senator from Delaware, initially focussing on consumer protection, environmental issues, government accountability, and arms control. In his 6 terms as a senator, Joe Biden sponsored or co-sponsored 348 pieces of legislation that became law.1981-97: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years.1986: Introduced his Global Climate Protection Act, one of the first bills aimed at addressing climate change.1990s: Authored every major piece of crime legislation this decade, including the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.1992-1995: Strongly guided Balkans policy in the mid-1990s during the Bosnian War, producing a successful NATO peacekeeping effort.1994: Spearheaded the Violence Against Women Act, criminalizing violence against women and creating unprecedented resources for survivors of assault, which was followed by a 64% drop in domestic violence from 1993 to 2010.1997-2009: Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, leading legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.1997: Led the Senate to approve ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention.1998: Led the Senate to approve NATO enlargement and passage of bills to streamline foreign affairs agencies and punish religious persecution overseas.1999: Co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions in Kosovo.2000: Sponsored the Kids 2000 Act, establishing a public-private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly low-income and at-risk youth.Joe Biden: Vice President accomplishments-2017: Vice President of the United States.2009: Implemented and oversaw the $840 billion stimulus package in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.2009: Chaired the Middle Class Working Families Task Force.2010: Fought for Congressional approval of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which inserted accountability into the financial sector and fortified the stability of the financial system.2011: Led negotiations between Congress and the White House in resolving federal spending levels for the rest of the year and avoiding a government shutdown. Negotiated with Mitch McConnell to agree on deficit-reducing Budget Control Act of 2011.2012: Headed the Gun Violence Task Force in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.2012: Negotiated a deal with Mitch McConnell that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, averting a fiscal cliff and implementing the largest middle-class tax cut in history.2014: Co-chaired White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.2014: Served as the Obama administration’s emissary to Eastern European governments like Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine worried over Vladimir Putin’s ambitions in the region.Here’s Trumps list…..Economic Growth4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.Jobs4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.Unemployment claims at 50 year lowAfrican-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.American IncomeMedian household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.American OptimismSmall business optimism has hit historic highs.NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.Manufacturers are more confident than ever.95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.American BusinessInvestment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.DeregulationAchieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.Tax CutsBiggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into lawProvided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.Worker DevelopmentEstablished a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.Domestic InfrastructureProposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.Health CareSigned an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 statesProposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.Combating OpioidsChaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.Law and OrderMore U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the ConstitutionNominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.Border Security and ImmigrationSecured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible forOver 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.More than 48,000 with assault offenses.More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.TradeNegotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policiesWithdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTOOpened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-centuryAmerican beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decadeOK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.EnergyPresidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American historyUnited States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategyHeld a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.Foreign PolicyMoved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods ForceSince enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.DefenseExecutive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.Released an America first National Security Strategy.Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.Every member state has increased defense spending.Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.Veterans affairsSigned the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.Funding for the Veterans Choice program.Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.