While California law does not require employers to offer severance pay, providing it in exchange for a release of claims can be a strategic move to avoid future litigation when parting ways with employees. For at-will employees, where no contract mandates severance, an employer may still benefit from offering a severance package in specific situations
AB 331 known as the “Silenced No More Act,” was approved by the Governor on October 7, 2021, and its provisions applies to employment agreements, such as severance agreements, settlements agreements, or a release of claims. Here are five items employers should understand about AB 331:
1. When does AB 331 take effect?
AB 331
Even though severance pay is not required under California law, employers facing disputes with exiting employees should consider offering severance pay in exchange for a release of claims in order to preempt potential litigation. If an employee is at-will and either the employer or the employee decides to end the employment relationship, unless there is
As 2020 ends, this Friday’s Five focuses on five steps employers can take now to prepare for 2021:
1. Update employee handbooks to comply with SB 1383 – California Family Rights Act (CFRA) now applies to employers with 5 or more employees.
There has been overhaul of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) which will
This Friday’s Five is a video covering five common questions about severance agreements in California:
There is no silver bullet for California employers to avoid workplace disputes and litigation. However, by focusing on a few key best practices, employers can reduce the likelihood of litigation, and if sued, the practices will make defending litigation much easier and can result in a better outcome. Here are my top five employer practices
This video is the third installment of three videos covering issues surrounding terminations in California. For today’s Friday’s Five, in this final video in the series I discuss five common questions employers have about severance agreements:
Happy Friday! This Friday’s Five focuses on the termination process. Employers should develop a termination checklist to ensure all documents and contingencies are consistently covered during the process. Here are five pointers employers can use to start in developing their own checklist:
1. Final wages must be timely paid.
The employee’s wages must be paid
What does the agreement have to be titled?
I was recently asked if the severance agreement needs to have a specific title in order to be valid. The title does not have to contain specific words, and are usually titled "general release" or "severance agreement." The title, unless it is clearly erroneous or confusing, does
In Chindarah v. Pick Up Stix, Inc. (February 26, 2009) the court of appeal held that employers may enter into settlement agreements with current and former employees over disputed wage claims. At issue in the case was whether the employer’s settlement and release agreements entered into with individual employees settling disputed overtime wages were valid