If you are leaving your job, there are several reasons your employer may present you with a severance agreement to sign. The severance package, which divulges how big your payout will be and when you will receive it, may be a reward for your hard work and loyalty. However, offering you a settlement package could be a maneuver to force you to drop a grievance action or keep silent about illegal acts your employer committed.
If your employer has given you a severance agreement for any reason, you should not sign it without talking to a Los Angeles severance agreement lawyer at Erkel Law, P.C. An employment agreement attorney who routinely handles these issues may be able to negotiate more money for you and can advise you about what to do if your employer’s reason for offering you a severance payment is not permitted under state law.
The California Code of Civil Procedure § 1001 expanded its restrictions concerning settlement agreements, including ones that attempt to silence employees who are leaving their jobs. Prior to this change, the law already prohibited employers from silencing employees who had been discriminated against or harassed by paying them severance to keep quiet. Now, employers also cannot pay departing employees to keep confidential any facts about their employers’ illegal activities. These instances violate public policy.
Employers can pay severance to forbid departing employees from taking a job with a nearby competitor or from disclosing proprietary information about the employer’s business.
Severance agreements in this state require employees to protect their interests by consulting an employment attorney within 5 days of receiving the documents. If you accept a severance document without consulting a Los Angeles employment attorney, you must acknowledge in writing that you signed it voluntarily without threat of any severance package being withheld. If your departure is contentious and your employer negotiates with you to not sue them, there is a federal law you should know about. A lawyer at Erkel Law, P.C., can answer all your questions.
The federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires employers to add additional language to a severance agreement if they insist that the departing employee give up any right to sue them. The law makes the following stipulations:
A severance agreement can be complicated. For example, the mutual exchange of consideration cannot include bargaining for something that is already owed (such as your final paycheck in exchange for not suing your employer) and cannot include a valuable exchange that goes against public policy. A Los Angeles employment attorney at Erkel Law, P.C., can review your severance package or negotiate more money for you.
Erkel Law, P.C., wishes you great success in your next job. As you prepare to leave your current job, let our attorney review the severance agreement your employer is offering you. You may be entitled to additional benefits, including a larger payout, and the agreement could be unlawful if it requires you to overlook illegal activity you know about. The document should encourage you to consult a Los Angeles severance agreement lawyer who will protect your interests and make sure you understand what you are signing. Call Erkel Law, P.C., today to schedule a consultation.
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