(Before and After) The 2 Most Important Times to Contact an Employment Lawyer
It's not surprising that I deal with people every day that are leaving their employment. Sometimes, they're being illegally terminated because of things like discrimination or whistle blowing. Sometimes, they're being terminated for a completely legitimate reason like role elimination or performance issues. In both legal and illegal circumstances, it's often the case that severance is being offered. It's pretty standard practice for employers to offer some severance, especially places like the tech sector here in Seattle. These severance agreements are offered for the benefit of the employer, the subject of which is the focus of a another of my blog posts.
In any case, people always call me at the end of their employment, but very few people call me at the beginning of their employment. A severance/settlement agreement at the conclusion of employment/a successful legal claim gives a person terms for how they will conduct themselves in relation to their former employer in exchange for money. It gives a former employee the rules of the road after you've left a job.
For a lot of people, such as the aforementioned tech-sector employees, you are provided similar stacks of documents as part of your offer letter. Most people just glance at the paperwork and sign whatever is put in front of them without really understanding what they're signing. It's very important to have a lawyer review a severance agreement, but it's equally important to have a lawyer look at your on-boarding paperwork as well. Most people are excited to get an offer letter from an employer at the end of a hiring process that has taken weeks or even months. It's also likely that the offer is take it or leave it. Some savvy professionals seek out attorneys to negotiate a larger salary during the hiring process, but most don't.
Why does this matter? It matters because there is a lot more in those stacks of on-boarding documents than most people realize. They often have arbitration agreements, or non-compete clauses. Many people come to me after they have been terminated, and are shocked to learn they cannot sue the employer in a court, but are instead stuck with arbitration as their exclusive remedy for any illegal actions of the employer. Now that these documents are delivered mostly in electronic format, most people don't ever see the actual stack of papers. They just hit the "next" button, and electronically sign on the next signature or initial line. The on-boarding terms may be take or leave it. You probably still want to take the job, but it's worth at least knowing what the the rules of the road that are going to govern things like what legal remedies are available at the outset. Talk to a lawyer both before you take the job and after you leave it.
I'm an employment lawyer here in Seattle, and I always offer a free consultation for these sorts of employment contract issues. Arbitration agreements are, in my opinion, the most common and consequential agreement that I see in on-boarding paperwork Here is a link to a pretty simple but effective video explaining arbitration agreements:
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