Can my friend collect severance if she accepts another position within the the same company before the actual separation date?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can my friend collect severance if she accepts another position within the the same company before the actual separation date?
My friend was given notice with severance. She saw another position with in the same company before the actual separation date and applied for it. She thinks they will offer the position to her. Will the employer let her collect the severance if she accepts the position? What happens if she declines the offer?
Asked on February 2, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
The law never requires severance: it's voluntary for companies to offer it. If there was some sort of severance agreement and its terms address this issue in some fashion--or at least provide some defined basis for receiving severance--those terms will be enforceable. For example, if the agreement says that in exchange for being given severance, your friend gives up any/all potential legal claims against the company, then she should still be eligible for the severance: the severance was consideration (or quid pro quo) for giving up legal claims, and that's still the case regardless of whom she gets new job with.
On the other hand, if there is no severance agreement and nothing that your friend is doing or giving up to get the severance--it's simply something the company chooses to offer voluntarily, to ease the pain of being fired or laid off--then the company may be able to withdraw the severance if she simply moves from one job to another with them.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.