EEOC Issues Guidance for Employees on Waivers in Severance Agreement

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a document titled, “Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements” to provide guidance for employees on waivers executed as part of their severance agreements. The document offers basic information about severance agreements, including legal requirements and necessary provisions for a valid severance agreement. Key points include:

Consideration – A severance agreement must be supported by consideration, i.e., a lump sum payment of a percentage of an employee’s annual salary.
Validity— A severance agreement is valid only where an employee knowingly and voluntarily consents to the waiver.
EEOC Charges – Regardless of the broad language used in a waiver to describe the claims that an employee is releasing, an employee can still file a charge with the EEOC for discrimination.
Other Rights – A severance agreement may not limit an employee’s right to testify, assist, or participate in an investigation, hearing, or proceeding conducted by the EEOC under the ADEA, Title VII, the ADA, or the EPA. Any provision in a waiver that attempts to waive these rights is invalid and unenforceable.

The EEOC also provides a specific discussion on waivers of age discrimination claims to address recent developments under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), such as the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.

For information on The Employment Law Group® law firm’s Employment Discrimination Law Practice go to http://www.employmentlawgroup.net/PracticeAreas/Discrimination-Law.asp.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Age Discrimination, Disability Discrimination Legislation, Equal Pay Act, Title VII. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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EEOC Issues Guidance for Employees on Waivers in Severance Agreement