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Two weeks severance isn't traditionally "extra pay". It's generally a professional courtesy that they are now withholding until the no-longer-employee agrees t
by LanceH 13y ago
Two weeks severance isn't traditionally "extra pay". It's generally a professional courtesy that they are now withholding until the no-longer-employee agrees to an everlasting requirement.
The flip side: Offer two weeks notice, but only if they agree to speak of you on your terms afterward. No company signs that. They would be liable for anything anyone in the company ever said about you, forever.
It's also exceptionally vague and even if it only applies to lies spoken by the employee, it can still have a chilling effect on the truth.
- crusso 13y agoIt's also "professional courtesy" to not trash people... but there you have it, so what would you be giving up if everyone is being "professional". You can forego the two weeks severance if it isn't worth it and you really want to trash them. Having been both on the employee and the employer side of things, as an employer it really sucks to do something nice that you don't have to like give someone a severance package and then have them be a jerk by trying to hurt you in some way.
- ojbyrne 13y agoThere's a difference between "not trashing people" and not saying anything under threat of lawsuit. Pretty well anything can be interpreted as disparaging. You could say something as simple as "they fired me, I don't think it was fair." and find yourself liable.
- crusso 13y agoThe reality is that bringing a lawsuit against a former employee is a huge expense and as others have mentioned - unlikely to even get anywhere. So unless you want to cherry pick extremely unlikely situations, this separation agreement clause is a no-op and probably worth signing.
- jrockway 13y agoDying startups tend to do a lot of stupid things. Why risk it?