April 2005 Archives  Staying at Job Post Termination Notice
Entitles Employee to Severance  April 6, 2005  Employee who
stayed on with the company that acquired his past employer, was
accused of having a hand in his old employer's accounting
misrepresentations at the time of the acquisition and was told
that he was about to be terminated but would receive three
months severance. The employee, in reliance on that promise,
continued with the acquiring company for a short time longer.
Ultimately, he was terminated. In defending its decision not to
pay, the acquiring company claimed that the promise was a gift
and not enforceable because the employee had given up nothing in
exchange for that promise. The court determined that while the
employee's past work for the company was insufficient, as it had
happened prior to the promise being made, his work post-notice
of his impending termination sufficed, notwithstanding that the
value of the severance was disproportionate to the work he did.
(4/05)