separation agreements

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)—the agency tasked with enforcing federal labor laws—was deputized by Congress in 1972 with authority to bring lawsuits against employers for violating anti-discrimination laws and retaliating against employees.  Since then, the agency has made a concerted and aggressive effort to challenge, among other things, standard clauses in separation agreements that have the potential to chill former employees’ participation in legal actions against their former employers, including non-cooperation and covenant not to sue clauses.  This concern is especially salient in the age of COVID-19, where many employers are using separation agreements at a breakneck pace due to the unprecedented rate of employee layoffs, and EEOC enforcement actions may be just around the corner.…
Continue Reading Employee Separation Agreements Likely to Face Increased EEOC Scrutiny

Most employers have separation agreement forms that have served them well over the years.  The terms have become fairly standardized and, aside from the occasional tweak, they don’t change much and are rarely challenged.  Enter the EEOC, upsetting the apple cart with its new strategic enforcement initiative.  In recent litigation, it has staked out an aggressive (and new) position challenging what appear to be fairly standard separation agreement provisions.  Although it suffered a minor setback earlier this month, we shouldn’t expect it to back off from its new-found position.…
Continue Reading The EEOC’s Assault on Separation Agreements – A Bump in the Road, But It’s Far From Over