Getting Your Severance Agreements to Stick

Employees jump ship faster than ever these days. Too often, leaving employers with legal and regulatory headaches.

Severance or separation agreements can make the process smoother and afford some protection to employers. But, they also come with their own difficulties. Such agreements are being more closely scrutinized by regulatory agencies, plus employees may still pursue legal action or try to negotiate for more favorable terms.

What can employers do? Many don’t understand the key issues to address in a settlement or severance agreement, or how to structure payments. Join us to learn the essentials of what should be considered when negotiating, drafting and presenting enforceable separation agreements. We’ll discuss:

• Fundamentals for negotiating separation & severance agreements
• Understanding ERISA considerations, EEOC & OBWPA
• Language guidelines to ensure your agreements are enforceable
• Recent court decisions and statues employers need to know
• What to avoid when drafting your agreements

Program Highlights

Key Considerations for Creating Severance & Separation Agreements

• Solutions to reduce risk of future litigation on claims
• What the IRS Iooks for when auditing severance agreement
• Recent EEOC developments on settlement agreements
• Handling group layoffs vs individual employees
• Standards as to readability, clarity, and equitable (fair) treatment

Protecting Your Business – Without Violating Employee Rights

• Requirements under the Defend Trade Secrets Act
• The Older Worker’s Benefits Protection Act (OBWPA)
• Provisions that won’t meet NLRB approval
• Employee rights that may not be waived in agreements
• Ethical considerations employers can’t forget

Language is Key: Essentials for Drafting Enforceable Agreements

• Employees documents you need before getting started
• Standard provisions to consider for your agreements
• Clarifying what legal options employees may be giving up
• Wording to avoid restarting the consideration periods
• Specifying the allocation of payments and amounts to be paid

Question and Answer Session – Hear expert answers to real-world questions!

Program Benefits

In this presentation, we will address both the basics of enforceable separation agreements and recent court decisions and statutes that should be considered when negotiating, drafting and/or presenting such agreements to either individual employees or groups of employees.

About the Speaker

Marcia Nelson Jackson is a partner in the Labor and Employment Group of Wick Phillips. She has practiced labor and employment law for over 20 years and is a frequent speaker on issues related to the employer-employee relationship.

• Jackson’s practice includes all aspects of employment and labor law, strategic client counseling, preventative training, and internal investigations.
• In addition to representing employers in single and multi-plaintiff employment lawsuits, she regularly represents clients in wage and hour collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as disputes involving non-competition covenants and employee benefits litigation.
• Ms. Jackson has appeared in state and federal courts throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, and California, as well as administrative agencies in various states. Her clients range in size from local to global companies.