Employment Law
The author of this report has been asked to look at a test case situation and then answer a few questions about legal waivers that are often signed as a condition of receiving early retirement, severance or some other sort of payment arrangement. Specifically, this case is about a person who received a low performance score. That person was given the option to remain on or take a severance buyout, with the employee electing the latter. She then sued the company on the basis of age discrimination under ADEA. It is generally stated and agreed upon in the case study that the employer cannot use a waiver to avoid an ADEA or similar claim. However, there are three questions asked beyond that and they shall be answered in this brief report. While waivers are a tool to avoid lawsuits and claims, there are certain things that they cannot wash away.
Analysis
The first question in the case study asks whether the fact that the employee consulted with an attorney is a good indication that the acceptance of the waiver was "knowing and voluntary." To be really blunt, the agreement would be binding no matter what if it was signed unless there...
However, perhaps the bigger factor that one should consider is what precisely is being waived, or is thought to be waived. For example, if an employee stated after the signing of a waiver that she was shorted on her last paycheck, that is really the whole point of a severance waiver so that would almost certainly fall flat (Cotton, 2006). Further, the fact that she consulted with an attorney before signing would further affirm that she had her eyes wide open. However, that is all irrelevant when it comes to provisions and laws that cannot be trumped by such a waiver. Of course, an ADEA claim is one of those situations. In short, the employee should know what they are signing. However, documented consultation with an attorney would work against the employee if there was any sort of doubt to the validity of the sign-off (Nolo, 2015).
An employer should ensure that a waiver is valid by working with a general counsel or attorney that is familiar with such agreements. Familiarity would include knowing what is allowed, what is…
