Practice

REVIEWING YOUR CONTRACT

A contract is an agreement intended to be legally binding, where you give up something, and you get something. In the case of employment contracts, you are often getting a salary or wages. Other employment agreements attempt to get you to give up certain rights to which the law guarantees you.

Noncompete Agreements

A common agreement requires you to refrain from operating a competing business after leaving your employer. A “non-compete agreement” should be reviewed by an experienced employment attorney at Weisberg Cummings, P.C. We can tell you exactly what the contract demands, whether it is reasonable and whether we can improve it by contract negotiation. We offer this service at an affordable “fee for service” rate.

Title VII

It may seem offensive to be requested to forgo your right to redress for illegal discrimination. Such discrimination should be punished, and you should receive monetary damages. However, if you are being offered something valuable in return, such as a severance payment from a former employer, we are happy to discuss with you whether you wish to agree to it.

Finally, we can help you if you need to enforce the contract, or the employer seeks to force you to comply with certain terms. We know the law and have been practicing heavily in this area for many years. Some of our attorneys have financial expertise as certified public accountants. Contact a lawyer via e-mail or call us in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at 717-238-5707 for a contract review or a free consultation about your legal options.

Skilled counsel on severance negotiations and agreements

For many different kinds of employment disputes, a negotiated severance agreement will represent a good outcome for the employee, especially in situations where the workplace atmosphere has deteriorated beyond repair. If you need advice about the severance option for resolving disputes on the job, contact Weisberg Cummings, P.C., in Harrisburg.

Our attorneys negotiate, review and enforce the terms of severance agreements in many different situations — layoffs due to downsizing or structural changes at a major Pennsylvania employer, the departure of key executive or professional employees following the sale of a closely held business, or the resolution of sexual harassment or employer retaliation complaints as an alternative to a lawsuit.

A severance agreement should ideally resolve all of the actual and potential issues between an employer and the employee at the time of separation. If you have been asked to sign a severance agreement, it will very likely contain a waiver and release clause that gives up all the rights you might have against the company. It is always a good idea to review the agreement with an experienced lawyer who can let you know whether you’re being asked to waive any substantial rights or benefits based on your actual experience with the employer.

We Advise Clients About All Aspects of Severance Agreements

If it appears that you have a potential discrimination or retaliation claim, our law firm can go to work with the goal of recovering the value of your legal claims as an element of the severance package. A negotiated severance agreement can reflect these claims in the amount of severance pay, the duration of continued health insurance coverage, the employer’s waiver of non-compete or non-solicitation terms, or other important provisions.

At Weisberg Cummings, P.C., we have successfully resolved many workplace disputes through severance negotiations. For dependable advice about the ways a pending severance offer can be improved, or to learn how we use severance as part of a broader employment litigation strategy, contact our office in Harrisburg for a free consultation.