Legal Question in Employment Law in Illinois
Reduction in force has become routine at my company. Typically an employee has to sign a waiver not to sue in order to collect severance. The company plans to eliminate 17,000 jobs in 2012. With so many people affected it makes me suspicious the severance plan will be changed to reduce the company�s expense.
Are there any legal requirements for the company about severance pay out? Can they change the severance plan without notice? Also is there any protection during a layoff for a person�s age? If I am one of the people laid off but someone else with less experience is kept, is there any recourse? What is the significance of signing the severance waiver?
1 Answer from Attorneys
A company is not required by law to provide severance pay therefore the employer can dictate the terms and change the terms when they want to so long as they inform you of the changed plan.
With respect to your question about age, you will need to provide more details about your specific concerns. It does not automatically rise to age discrimination because the employer has selected someone over the age of 40 for a layoff. In fact, successful claims int his area are far and few.
The significance of signing a lawful waiver is that you cannot come back and sue the employer for claims you have waived.
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