Severance: What to Know
There are different types of severance payments an employee might get upon leaving. The first variation that they might get is getting their severance payment in different forms: lump sum payments, salary, period payments, unused vacation and sick pay, or stock payments.
Before signing a non-competition clause, ask an attorney for help securing severance pay.
Do you know your rights if you’re fired and not given the severance package that all the other employees in your department have received? Did you know, this may be considered grounds to take action against your employer for discrimination? You might even be able to receive back pay before you were denied severance pay. While an attorney can help you file an employment discrimination lawsuit, you may have difficult time proving employment discrimination, unless you have evidence supporting your case.
Having an attorney can help you in your efforts to gather evidence against your employer in an employment discrimination case. If an employee can prove the employer discriminated against them on the basis of race, religion, age, sexual orientation, or a disability, then a employee may be able to secure the severance package they were denied or severance payments.
There are no laws regarding severance package or severance payments.
Unlike employment law discrimination, there are no rules to define any severance packages or severance payments. Employers are not obligated to award severance payments or any severance packages if it’s not stipulated directly into an employee’s contract. An employee also may have signed away their rights, signing a non-competitive clause before they can receive severance payments. This means that by signing this document, many employees unwittingly give up their right to sue their employee.
Bribing employees is one tactic some employers may use to withhold a severance package or severance payments. While it is not illegal for employers to do so, employees may want to consult their attorney first. Will the fact an employer is holding onto an employee’s severance pay be an obstacle to their case if they are also trying to sue an employer for employment discrimination? This may have strengthened your case of employment discrimination against the company. However, you should seek legal advice before signing any paperwork.
While an employer’s withholding of severance benefits or pay may not be fair, this alone may not constitute discrimination. An employee must prove the employer violated classes they were not supposed to in order to be classified as employment discrimination. If an employee can point to a string of abuse, they may be more likely to win an employment discrimination charge.
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