Quiz courtesy of Joan Lloyd & Associates (www.joanlloyd.com)
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Dear Career Coach
Two years ago, the firm where I work as a software engineer was sold to a larger company, and it's now for sale again. We've been told that if no buyer is found this time, our division will be dissolved and we'll be offered "comparable" jobs within the parent company, but if we refuse those jobs, we won't get severance. Is that legal, even if the new jobs pay less?
Worried in Wisconsin
Dear Worried
Absent a contract or offer letter promising severance, your employer probably doesn't have to provide it, says Marty Ebel, an employment attorney at Lawson & Weitzen LLP in Boston. But if your employee handbook includes a severance policy, you may have a case (see www.kohnrath.com/articles/article-2.htm for case law examples).
Even a solid severance package may come with strings attached, Ebel adds, including disqualification if you've turned down a similar job. And to get paid, you may have to sign a release barring you from suing the company.
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