These agreements don't even have to be signed to be deemed problematic, the board noted: If the firm merely presents employees with agreements that contain broad language requiring confidentiality or nondisparagement, it is engaging in an unfair labor practice.
Example: The following non-disparagement clause would be unlawful under Government Code section 12964.5: “Former Employee agrees that they will not make any statement, directly or indirectly, verbally or in writing, that would cause harm or embarrassment to the Company.” claims in a separation agreement?
When settling a lawsuit or pre-litigation disputes, parties sometimes insist on including non-disparagement clauses in their settlement or severance agreements. Broadly speaking, these clauses prevent one or both parties to the agreement from making negative comments about each other.
Key Takeaways. Employers' confidentiality, severance, and nondisparagement agreements must include carveouts to comply with federal whistleblower laws. Employers cannot prohibit employees from disclosing confidential or disparaging information to government regulators.
It is generally unlawful in California for an employer's severance agreement to state that you may not compete against the employer in a future job.
Employers are generally required to provide an employee time to consider the Severance Agreement before signing. An employee usually has a 21-day consideration period to accept and at least a 7-day revocation period to revoke an employer's Severance Agreement if the employee is over 40 years of age.
The decision issued on February 21, 2023 by the NLRB restricts companies from demanding silence from laid-off employees through confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-disparagement provisions in their severance agreements.
Neither the California Labor Code nor the federal Fair Labor Standards Act require employers to offer severance agreements to departing employees. Instead, severance agreements are provided by employers to accomplish a specific goal.
Fraud, misrepresentation, duress, or unconscionability are common defenses you can use if you want to void a severance agreement that you already signed.