Legaility of severance contract conditions
I have been employed at the same bank for 15 years and due to a recent merger which would force me to travel much further, I have declined the new position offered and accepted a severance package which amounted to 2 weeks per year of employement.
The severance could be taken all at once or drawn out in payments equal to normal salary. The first option would cost me an additional 15% in possible pay, but would have no strings attached.
The second would place me on an 'inactive' employee status and according to the contract, the new bank could call me in to perform services or consulting any time they desired. Is this legal?
Also, even though I have it in writing that I would be eligible and receive the severance money, the contract says that I can not work for any other employer while receiving severance? Is this legal?
Thanks for whatever answers you can provide.
Rebecca Cook
Answers (1)
Without reading the contract, it is impossible to tell you what your rights would be were you to sign the document. Generally speaking, the courts will uphold the terms of a contract that the parties sign -- that is unless the contract is for something illegal (like agreeing to kill someone, or agreeing to discriminate against someone). Other than specifically illegal things that you cannot do regardless of whether you have a contract, the court will assume that you and the other party bargained in good faith and that, in exchange for what you received, you agreed to be bound by the other terms in the contract. You really need someone to go over that contract with you (that someone being a lawyer who knows employment contracts), particularly if it contains legal terms. If you do not understand it, you should not sign it. A court will generally not allow a party to get out of a contract just because the individual says that he or she did not understand it. You should therefore have a lawyer look at it in advance.
posted by Margaret A. Harris | May 14, 2001 8:53 PM [EST]
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