Legal Question in Employment Law in Texas
permanent facility shutdown
As of October 3, 2007 there was a plant shutdown of my job of 20 years. They have given all employees of 6 months or longer ''WARN'' money for the remaining 60 days of notice that they are required to give. Now they want all employees to sign a ''General release and seperation agreement'' in order to receive 40 hours more pay. How does this release affect unemployment benifits and is there suposed to be some type of severance package other than the ''WARN'' money that an employee receives according to the amount of time of employment?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: permanent facility shutdown
Generally, an employer may require you to sign a general release if they offer to pay you money for time that you did not work. There is no type of severance that an employee is entitled to apart from payment under the WARN act. If you are under a collective bargaining agreement, there may be some additional benefits that have to be given, but that would be
set by the collective bargaining agreement itself. The employer is
probably asking for employees to sign the releases in order to prevent any lawsuits arising from the plant closing.
If you believe you have a claim against the company, then you should probably consult a lawyer before signing the release and separation agreement.
Feel free to call my office and speak to my legal assistant Ashley to set up an appointment if you wish to discuss this further; or visit our website www.rosslawpc.com for more information