No more silence in exchange for severance

[SuperSpreader]

Companies can no longer silence laid-off employees in exchange for severance | CNN Business

WWW.CNN.COM

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If your company lays you off, your employer might offer you severance pay — but only if you agree to adhere to a number of restrictions.

 

 

[SoberChef]

So happy to hear this as far too often, you hear about people being un-repentently let go for a gig, yet with the NDA being signed, they cannot even discuss (at least for a set amount of time wherein its far too long and most assuredly not topical by the time they can divulge) what prompted their termination etc. Always happy for more workers' rights being protected.

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

companies will use employee ignorance and threats of lawsuits to accomplish the same, but still a good ruling

[ort]

Or maybe they will just stop giving out severance at all…

[SuperSpreader]

3 hours ago, ort said:

Or maybe they will just stop giving out severance at all…

 

They'll get even less loyalty 

 

People would have no reason to risk sticking around when things get tough 

[CitizenVectron]

What is the common law standard for severance in the US, if anyone knows? I know that in Canada, statutory minimums are set at the provincial level (and typically are around two weeks minimum, with an additional one to two weeks per year employed)...but in reality, common law has set the standard much, much higher. So, the accepted standard is around one month of severance per year employed at a company, with higher severance if you are in a niche industry or are older (both considered factors in how hard it will be to find a new job). For that reason, and to avoid going to court, many companies will offer around a month per year employed if they fire you without cause. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

31 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

What is the common law standard for severance in the US, if anyone knows? I know that in Canada, statutory minimums are set at the provincial level (and typically are around two weeks minimum, with an additional one to two weeks per year employed)...but in reality, common law has set the standard much, much higher. So, the accepted standard is around one month of severance per year employed at a company, with higher severance if you are in a niche industry or are older (both considered factors in how hard it will be to find a new job). For that reason, and to avoid going to court, many companies will offer around a month per year employed if they fire you without cause. 

 

I'm not sure what the common law standard is here, but companies typically give what you outlined in the U.S. as well.

[Demut]

^I'm surprised it's not a week per year employed instead

[GeneticBlueprint]

I was laid off from my first job out of college. I’d been there for about half a year. They gave me two weeks severance. Tons of layoffs are occurring in the tech sector right now (which I’m a part of) and the one month per year seems to be the minimum that is being handed out, with seemingly more being given as well. Like one month no matter your tenure plus an additional month for every year. Stuff like that.

[Demut]

What industry was that job in if you don't mind me asking? I'm just curious because I'm not surprised about the tech industry having that ratio as their default, their benefits seem to be above average in general. But with that in mind it would be unusual to me if everyone else roughly gave as much as well (making it the country-wide average), leading to them being actually "merely" average as a result when it comes to severance.

[GeneticBlueprint]

3 minutes ago, Demut said:

What industry was that job in if you don't mind me asking? I'm just curious because I'm not surprised about the tech industry having that ratio as their default, their benefits seem to be above average in general. But with that in mind it would be unusual to me if everyone else roughly gave as much as well (making it the country-wide average), leading to them being actually "merely" average as a result when it comes to severance.

 

It was an advertising company. I was an editor.

[stepee]

The title of this thread sounds really nice said out loud like it would be a good opening line to a song 

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

old company of mine had layoffs and gave one month per year of service. with some employees having been there 25+ years (it was an insurance company) there were some people who didn't have to work for two whole years or more if they wanted to. most of whom I heard just retired since they had the good boomer profit sharing/retirement plan from when the company was a GE spinoff.