Legal Question in Employment Law in Oregon

Re: What rights can be limited by severance agreement?

In addition to Mr. Crispin's comments, I add the following:

No agreement that you sign can prevent disclosure of information required by a subpoena or court order, both of which would most likely be available to enforcement authorities or future litigants. The severance agreement and release, however, is likely to be binding on you and may bar you from filing a civil suit for damages. You should have an attorney review the document and give you case specific advice before potentially waiving your rights.

Re: What rights can be limited by severance agreement?

If your company is a publicly traded company, and if the violations you threatened to disclose (or complained about) shareholder fraud or securities violations, you may have a claim under the SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides that �No company with a class of securities

registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(15 U.S.C. 78l), or that is required to file reports under section 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o(d)), or any officer,

employee, contractor, subcontractor, or agent of such company,

may discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other

manner discriminate against an employee in the terms and conditions

of employment because of any lawful act done by the employee

�

��(1) to provide information, cause information to be provided,

* * * regarding any conduct which the employee reasonably believes constitutes a

violation of section 1341, 1343, 1344, or 1348, any rule or regulation

of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision

of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders,

when the information or assistance is provided to or the investigation

is conducted by�

* * * ��(C) a person with supervisory authority over the employee

(or such other person working for the employer who

has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate misconduct).

(Excerpts)

That Act is quite complicated, and you need the assistance of a lawyer to determine if your rights have been violated under it.

The nature of your �potential violations of federal regulations if certain activities were to continue� will determine if you have rights under other federal statutes or state law for whistleblowing. Again, the facts and circumstances are critical, and a lawyer must be consulted to sort them all out.

This is not specific advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should seek legal counsel to assist with your case and advise you regarding the applicable limitations periods and duty to mitigate damages.