Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Release agreement
I am resigning from a company, I want to clear some doubts in the agreement I am going to sign.
1.'You will cooperate fully in defense of the company in any administrative, judicial or other proceeding arising from any charge, complaint or other action, which has been or may be filed for company actions during the time of your employment''
2.''You agree to refer any reference checks to the company, any such references will be limited to confirmation of your dates of employment and last position held. The obligation under this paragraph is separable and any failure by the company to perform the obligation in this paragraph will only give rise to an action to enforce this paragraph''
I am mainly concerned about the above two paragraphs in the agreement. Is it ok accept these terms or there are any implied meaning in the above statements that will result in any legal actions against me, since I am worried about some body ready to do anything against me. Thankyou for your great help by providing approprite answers.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Release agreement
The first para is often included in separation agreements. The only modification might be to include some reference to what you will be paid when you are called as a witness. You might want to secure an hourly rate or daily rate while so engaged. Otherwise, you will only get statutory witness fees and milage.
The second para is also fairly common. It would be helpful to secure a reference letter from a supervisor to provide to prospective employers inlight of the fact that they will recieve limited info from your present employer.
Finally, you should at least speak to an attorney to review the balance of agreemnt and regarding the adaquacy of the severance pay.
Re: Release agreement
Obviously, I can't tell you what to do or what not to do. The first of the paragraphs wants your help in case the company is sued by someone else. All that is required is that you tell the truth under oath. I have found that such clauses in the past have not usually been burdensome or oppressive.
The second of the paragraphs might be for your protection. If you were to refer a prospective employer to someone else, who knows what that person would say? Here, the company is telling you that all it will divulge is "name, rank, and serial number," to coin a phrase. No one will say "She was an awful employee," or "he stole millions from the company," for example. It might be a good idea to negotiate for a letter of reference that you and/or your lawyer draft if you remain on fairly good terms with the company.
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