NWR: Is this legal?

Ok so most of you have read my posts about my mom and her boss who fired her (BTW if you didnt see my post last week - she got a new job, close to home and for the salary she wanted!!!!)

well he told my mom she would get a severance package. This was maybe 2 weeks or more ago.

Yesterday they hand her a severance agreement letter, it stated the amount and that she was aware of this 21 days before (which she was not), he NEVER told her that there would be anything for her to sign until yesterday. However this letter in my opinion was no ordinary severance package letter. it is 4 pages long and it states that she cannot share any information from the company. Basically so that she cannot give away information. vendors/clients that they use to anyone else - because of course they would be screwed if she did

she was told that if she doesnt sign this she will NOT get her severance money.

Is this allowed? i mean its like blackmail. plus for the amount they are offering her to not to share what she knows - its not worth signing.

but i was curious what you girls thought of this.

I have NO idea... But it does sound like blackmail to me...
I think there are a few lawyers on here... Hopefully they will be able to help you guys out...
I mean I could see them having her sign something stating that she will not share any inside information, but I wouldnt think they could hold her money from her if she doesnt agree to it.. After all it is HER money!

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Posted by RKellner

I have NO idea... But it does sound like blackmail to me...
I think there are a few lawyers on here... Hopefully they will be able to help you guys out...
I mean I could see them having her sign something stating that she will not share any inside information, but I wouldnt think they could hold her money from her if she doesnt agree to it.. After all it is HER money!

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yeah it just doesnt seem right - but he is probably allowed to because of course the big shots always have to come out on top! makes me so mad . i wouldnt even mind if they were offering my mom a lot of money - but they really arent

she is def going to contact a lawyer before she signs

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Posted by jgl

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Posted by RKellner

I have NO idea... But it does sound like blackmail to me...
I think there are a few lawyers on here... Hopefully they will be able to help you guys out...
I mean I could see them having her sign something stating that she will not share any inside information, but I wouldnt think they could hold her money from her if she doesnt agree to it.. After all it is HER money!

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yeah it just doesnt seem right - but he is probably allowed to because of course the big shots always have to come out on top! makes me so mad . i wouldnt even mind if they were offering my mom a lot of money - but they really arent

she is def going to contact a lawyer before she signs

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Yea I hear ya!
I would def have your mom contact and lawyer first.... I really dont think its legal!

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Posted by iwannabmrsD

i worked in corporate for like a hot second after college.. that sounds like a confidentiality agreement.. nothing should be wrong with that.. companies want to keep their corp secrets to themselves.. what does the letter outline as the penalty if she does tell?

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thats a good question ill have to look at it


i understand wanting to keep things confidential but to hold her severance which he told her she was getting (and he never had any stipulations to it, just that she had to wait for it and had to stay to a certain date)

thanks for replying back to me!

i was downsized from a big corporation after the internet industry collapse ... before eventually opening my own business ...

it sounds like a confidentiality agreement, and i don't think they had to mention it to her when they said there would be a severance package.

i had to sign something like that too. i think its a very common practice.

i don't think they are obligated to a severance package, just to unemployment until she finds her next job, which you said she already did.

why wouldn't she want to agree to sign it anyway?

even though it doesn't seem right. I think its completely legal.
I am sure they checked out the legal aspects of it too (with the company's attyorney).

from my personal experience this is completely normal.
companies do not need to give severance packages, and a lot of them require you to sign either a confidentiality agreement or a temporary non-compete agreement to get one.

I have signed several non-compete agreements over the years just to get a job, which basically is a confidentiality agreement plus not being able to work in the specific industry for a set amount of time if you quit or are fired.
It's normal, and I believe it's totally legal.

Does she have a reason for not wanting to sign it? Does it outline a penalty if she goes against the agreement?
did she sign a similar document when she started working there that would act the same way? if so... she should just sign this one to take the money.

Can they really enforce the noncompetitive thing if they fire you? I was always under the impression that that was only if you left, not if they fired you...

I'm had to sign a confidentiality thing for my job. Shouldn't they have had this when she was still working for them?

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Posted by jgl

Ok so most of you have read my posts about my mom and her boss who fired her (BTW if you didnt see my post last week - she got a new job, close to home and for the salary she wanted!!!!)

well he told my mom she would get a severance package. This was maybe 2 weeks or more ago.

Yesterday they hand her a severance agreement letter, it stated the amount and that she was aware of this 21 days before (which she was not), he NEVER told her that there would be anything for her to sign until yesterday. However this letter in my opinion was no ordinary severance package letter. it is 4 pages long and it states that she cannot share any information from the company. Basically so that she cannot give away information. vendors/clients that they use to anyone else - because of course they would be screwed if she did

she was told that if she doesnt sign this she will NOT get her severance money.

Is this allowed? i mean its like blackmail. plus for the amount they are offering her to not to share what she knows - its not worth signing.

but i was curious what you girls thought of this.

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This is the way it should be done. It protects the company and protects the employee. She can have an attorney review it. She has a certain number of days to sign it and get it back. If you want more info, you can FM.

I work in HR - this is completely normal. No company in the world would hand over a severance package without something in return (i.e. a promise not to share confidential info like in this case).

Have someone review it for your mom.

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Posted by Jennifer907

It is normal to have to sign a confidentiality agreement. But just a word of advice, have it reviewed by an attorney to make sure it's not a non-compete. A non-compete could hinder where she could work if she signs it.

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agreed. i'm a little surprised they didn't have her sign one when she started. Usually you have to sign one of those when you work and then they remind you of the policy when you leave.