Watertown Employment / Labor Attorney.
Unemployment is only available for people who are out of work through no fault of their own. So deciding you are too old to do your job would probably not be qualifying. Is the dba your own business - are you self-employed? A worker is generally not eligible for unemployment in MA if he is self-employed regardless of how many years prior to that he paid into the system. You should contact an employment attorney with a good knowledge of the unemployment laws to look at the specific facts of...
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In addition to the good info provided so far, I wanted to point out that the severance payment need not be a "lump sum" and its not about the delivery of the money that is the issue. It could very likely be that the sevance is a continuation of weekly wage payments for a certain period of time. Again, whether or not that money (however paid out) is considered remuneration by the Division of Unemployment Assistance! thus delaying your eligibility for unemployment, is based on whether or not...
In order to be eligible for unemployment you must be able and available to work. If you were on a medical leave there may be an issue with your eligibility because not being able to work for medical reasons for your former employer might mean you are unable to work for other employers for medical reasons, regardless of whether or not your former employer contests your unemployment. The issue of the medical leave may not even come up if your termination was actually a lay off (and not some other...