Saturday, March 16, 2013
LLNS - It Learns and Adapts
Something new has been added to the requirements for severance pay in a RIF:
"Severance Program payments will not be made if the employee does not sign a
mutual waiver and release of claims in a form provided by LLNS."
Given the lawsuits that are now in court, it would seem that LLNS has learned a
lesson. Give those that are let go a severance package in exchange for the
promise not to make claims. It would be interesting to see what the wording of
the release form contains, but that is probably company proprietary information.
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18 comments:
Forced to sign away your rights?
LLNS is truly an advanced species, like the Borg in Star Trek. As mentioned in the previous post, it does indeed `learn and adapt’ to any defensive measures the lowly human employee may deploy. Soon it will assimilate all that remains after layoffs and furloughs. It is a brave new frontier, `where no labee has gone before.”
Sounds to me that if they want those documents signed they need to up the value of the severance....otherwise no.
March 16, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Agreed. One months pay for every year of service and I'll bet 50% of LLNL will be gone by next Friday.
One months pay for each year? If they did that I am sure that injuries and deaths would happen in the stampede. That would involve paper work which is probably the reason such an offer will never occur.
You got no choice but to sign the document. Get RIF and not get your severance pay, retiree medical (if qual), and 401 K what are your option but to sign the document. The reality is 1 week of pay for every year of service and max of 26 weeks is the new HR policy. Quit dreaming!
March 17, 2013 at 5:37 AM
That's chump change and no one is going to take it. I agree with one month’s pay for every year of service and let’s get the labs thinned down to 50% of what they are now and get some serious budget cut going. If that's not enough offer the same incentive in 2014 and 2015.
Might be a chump change but you don't have a choice when it comes to layoff. RIF means reduction in force- also means pink slip and PSO escort on the way-out. You must be talking of VSP-voluntary separation program.LLNS and LANL LLC do not need to give VSP if they want to trim down head couynt.They'll do a RIF it saves them $$.
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Big deal, hundreds of LANL employees signed the same form during the last VRIP. Sign it and get the hell out of the "dump"; you'll be better off.
I think it IS a big deal. LLNS modified the policy for severance pay associated with involuntary separation. The policy change was to specifically add the requirement that you sign a new "waiver" in order to receive severance pay. There are no details in the policy about what you will have to waive, and the waiver is not available for review.
I'm sure this has to do with the recently-won lawsuit by a RIF'd employee. But, in the worst case, this could be used to avoid severance pay entirely; just make the waiver so onerous that nobody would sign it.
I think LLNS is making a big mistake by not specifying what will have to be waived. I'm not even sure it's legal.
By the way, a VRIP (V=Voluntary)waiver is an entirely different animal. If you don't like the waiver, you don't take the VRIP.
Dance little monkey, dance.
Here, let me hang a piece of tasty cheese over your head. Dance for it, monkey.
Anone who is laid off during an involuntary RIF would likely be under great duress and would probably need the severance money for his family to survive.
Therefore, sliding a piece of paper in front of the poor guy that says you can't sue the labs for any reasons if you wish to receive the severance you earned during your many years of loyal service at the NNSA labs is a very sleazy tactic.
It's absolutely "Bechtel-ian", isn't it?
I completely agree with 9:04 AM. It indicates how much distrust there is between management and labor and, if anything, it invites further lawsuits. To say the least, it is coercive. Without that warm and fuzzy it is hard to give 110 percent to an employer.
At LANL, the employee retained the right to legal actions NOT related to the VSP. It was not a blanket waiver of all legal rights. Read the LLNL version before you get too frothy.
You missed 2 VERY important points:
1. This is NOT for a VOLUNTARY separation plan. It is for RIFs. You will be required to sign this just to get severance pay that has been in the policy of the lab for a very long time.
2. You CAN'T read it. LLNS will not provide it to you, or even tell you what it contains. They will provide it to you only if you are impacted by a RIF.
LLNS is probably doing it to deter people from trying to sue after they have been fired. I understand why they might want to do that.
What I don't understand is why they don't just make the waiver a part of the policy, so everybody can know what the rules are. It leaves LLNS open to all sorts of (usually negative) speculation.
Are layoffs expected? When?
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