Calculating severance: What do the courts say?

▤ Summary

We’ve all heard one of the following stories… An employee in heavy industry is laid off because of a downturn in the economy… Or an office worker is let go because she doesn’t get along with her supervisor… Or a company is going through a restructuring and has to terminate a quarter of its staff. While the creation and destruction of jobs is essential to our economy and our workplaces, people affected by job-loss are nonetheless dealing with a unique form of personal tragedy. The court awarded the plaintiff 24 months salary and benefits, $40,000 in accrued vacation, and $30,000 in aggravated damages for the unfair, dishonest and callous behavior displayed by the company. In arguing that he was wrongfully dismissed, Mr. Booton stated that Synergy could not rely on its conflict of interest policies as they never trained him on them and he was unaware of their existence. While I recognize that Mr. Chappel is an older worker, in a rural community and in a management position, awarding 9 months wages for an employee with 2 years of service seems on the high end.

▦ Linked Companies

First Reference

$1M to $5M