President of National Securities Company Severance Agreement Released

The online legal document provider, RealDealDocs.com has released a number of Severance Agreements for the top companies in America including many Fortune 500 companies. These are actual legal documents drafted by the nation’s top law firms.

In 2005, Washington’s National Securities Corporation drafted a severance agreement with its President of National. That same year, the Chittenden Corporation also drafted a severance agreement for their Chief Executive Officer. Both of these severance agreements can be found on the RealDealDocs.com website along with numerous other sample legal documents.

A severance agreement, also called a termination or separation agreement is a written contract between a company and a terminated employee in which the employee is paid for relinquishing certain rights. The employees in question are almost always top executives. Those executives who receive severance agreements are most often executives who are caught up in a round of layoffs, or executives who pose a potential liability to the company.

The crux of the agreement is the executive’s promise to drop his legal claims against the company in exchange for remuneration. A claim that the executive might have against the company would most likely be for wrongful termination, discrimination, or for disputed wages or benefits.

No law obligates companies to offer severance pay. But if a severance agreement is used, it must allow the executive time to consider it and to revoke his acceptance. If an executive counteroffers the company’s agreement, he is effectively rejecting the company’s offer and risks losing it. Importantly, the severance agreement must offer the executive something additional for his decision to waive his rights, beyond what the executive is already owed.

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A severance agreement is a formal written agreement between a company and one of its executives to compensate the executive for relinquishing certain of his rights in the event that his employment is terminated by the company.Two common scenarios in which the severance agreement is present are 1) when a company lays off a number of employees, including the executive, and 2) when a company desires to let go of a liability in the person of a specific executive. In these cases, the company will entice the executive, prior to his termination, to sign a severance agreement in exchange for giving up certain of his rights. Primarily, these rights are claims that the executive might bring against the company for disputed wages, discrimination, or wrongful termination.

Severance agreements are not compulsory. But they are a form of goodwill, for the terminated executive can be mollified and the remaining executives can be comforted through their use. No law obligates a company to provide severance agreements. However, if a company uses them, the company and the agreement must conform to certain legal strictures. For one, the agreement must be in writing. For another, the company must allow the executive a reasonable period of time to consider the agreement and to consult a lawyer. Additionally, the executive is afforded a statutory period of time in which he may revoke his acceptance of the agreement.

Importantly, despite the fact that the severance agreement has been labeled a legal bribe, the existence of severance agreements does not give companies carte blanche to intimidate their executives. That is, a severance agreement must offer the executive an additional incentive to what he is already due. The company may neither offer to pay the executive what he has already earned (salary, bonuses, benefits), nor threaten to withhold the same. The severance agreement is meant to be an additional carrot.

It may happen that a company will have a de facto severance agreement, whereby executives are compensated in the event of termination, but no written company guidelines exist to govern the process. This can be tricky for both sides, but if the executive can establish company patterns that support a de facto severance system, then he will likely prevail.

An executive may reject the agreement and perhaps should if he believes he has a legitimate grievance against the company that may entitle him to greater compensation than what the severance agreement offers. Alternatively, he may also counter the company’s offer with a more favorable one. There is a caveat, however. The executive’s counteroffer is effectively a rejection of the company’s offer, and the company is not obliged to maintain its offer after the executive has put forward a counteroffer. That most companies do just this in the normal course of business should not overshadow the fact that a counteroffer could theoretically leave the executive empty handed after his termination.

Severance agreements consist of compensation elements (base pay for a year or several; bonuses; stock options; health benefits perhaps); restrictive covenants (declarations not to bring claims against the company; turning over of proprietary company material); and other agreements (the company’s agreement to provide letters of recommendation or to help finding the executive another job). Many agreements also contain confidentiality and non-compete clauses that limit the executive’s ability to hurt the company after his termination. These clauses must protect the company’s legitimate business interests without impinging on the executive’s ability to work. It happens, of course, that companies overzealously protect themselves and try to hold their executives to unreasonable confidentiality and non-compete clauses.

Popularity: 10% [?]

A severance agreement, also called a termination or separation agreement is a written contract between a company and a terminated employee in which the employee is paid for relinquishing certain rights. The employees in question are almost always top executives.Those executives who receive severance agreements are most often:

1. Executives who are caught up in a round of layoffs; or

2. Executives who pose a potential liability to the company.

The crux of the agreement is the executive’s promise to drop his legal claims against the company in exchange for remuneration. A claim that the executive might have against the company would most likely be:

1. For wrongful termination;

2. For discrimination; or

3. For disputed wages or benefits.

No law obligates companies to offer severance pay. But if a severance agreement is used, it must allow the executive time to consider it and to revoke his acceptance. If an executive counteroffers the company’s agreement, he is effectively rejecting the company’s offer and risks losing it. Importantly, the severance agreement must offer the executive something additional for his decision to waive his rights, beyond what the executive is already owed.

There are a few basic elements to the severance agreement:

· Compensation (base pay, bonuses, stock options, even health benefits);

· Restrictive covenants (agreements not to bring claims against the company);

·Other agreements (company will provide letters of recommendation, help the executive get another job);

· Confidentiality and non-compete clauses (may not be overly broad so as to prevent an executive from working); and

· Boilerplate provisions.

Popularity: 10% [?]

A severance agreement is a formal written agreement between a company and one of its executives to compensate the executive for relinquishing certain of his rights in the event that his employment is terminated by the company.

Two common scenarios in which the severance agreement is present are 1) when a company lays off a number of employees, including the executive, and 2) when a company desires to let go of a liability in the person of a specific executive. In these cases, the company will entice the executive, prior to his termination, to sign a severance agreement in exchange for giving up certain of his rights. Primarily, these rights are claims that the executive might bring against the company for disputed wages, discrimination, or wrongful termination.

Severance agreements are not compulsory. But they are a form of goodwill, for the terminated executive can be mollified and the remaining executives can be comforted through their use. No law obligates a company to provide severance agreements. However, if a company uses them, the company and the agreement must conform to certain legal strictures. For one, the agreement must be in writing. For another, the company must allow the executive a reasonable period of time to consider the agreement and to consult a lawyer. Additionally, the executive is afforded a statutory period of time in which he may revoke his acceptance of the agreement.

Importantly, despite the fact that the severance agreement has been labeled a legal bribe, the existence of severance agreements does not give companies carte blanche to intimidate their executives. That is, a severance agreement must offer the executive an additional incentive to what he is already due. The company may neither offer to pay the executive what he has already earned (salary, bonuses, benefits), nor threaten to withhold the same. The severance agreement is meant to be an additional carrot.

It may happen that a company will have a de facto severance agreement, whereby executives are compensated in the event of termination, but no written company guidelines exist to govern the process. This can be tricky for both sides, but if the executive can establish company patterns that support a de facto severance system then he will likely prevail.

An executive may reject the agreement and perhaps should if he believes he has a legitimate grievance against the company that may entitle him to greater compensation than what the severance agreement offers. Alternatively, he may also counter the company’s offer with a more favorable one. There is, however, a caveat. The executive’s counteroffer is effectively a rejection of the company’s offer, and the company is not obliged to maintain its offer after the executive has put forward a counteroffer. That most companies do just this in the normal course of business should not overshadow the fact that a counteroffer could theoretically leave the executive empty handed after his termination.

Severance agreements consist of compensation elements (base pay for a year or several; bonuses; stock options; health benefits perhaps); restrictive covenants (declarations not to bring claims against the company; turning over of proprietary company material); and other agreements (the company’s agreement to provide letters of recommendation or to help finding the executive another job). Many agreements also contain confidentiality and non-compete clauses that limit the executive’s ability to hurt the company after his termination. These clauses must protect the company’s legitimate business interests without impinging on the executive’s ability to work. It happens, of course, that companies overzealously protect themselves and try to hold their executives to unreasonable confidentiality and non-compete clauses.

Popularity: 6% [?]