cant get former company's separation policy

[elbarrio]

What is the name of your state? New York
I work as a security officer for a retail mall in New York City . Recently , my company which ran the mall , was bought out by another retail establishment .This new company in turn turned all the security officers over to a third party vendor and we were told that we would retain our senority in the vendors company but that we have no ties with the company that took over but to the third party vendor. Security is the only department that this change affects , there are secretaries and marketing personnel and building engineers that all will continue to be employed by the take over company. We securty officers have consequently been swamped with paper work and documents to complete and it has become increasing bothersome to many . Which brings me to my main point, we were given a General Release And Waiver of All Claims form in which we are basically releasing any claims which existed under the former company known, unknown suspected and unsuspected under local , state , and federal law or pertaining to unlawful discrimination in all its forms. There is a 4 page document for us to decipher on our own or im assuming we should all find an attorney to assist us but no one here can give us any information. I have tried to reach a live person from the human resources department but all I get is an automated machine. Several times in the document it mentions a Separation Policy from the former employer , but no one has been able to acquire a copy of this policy , no one seems to be able to tell us what this policy is. It states that if i sign the document I waive my right to receive severance under and in accordance with the Separations Policy of my former employer if my employment with the third party vendor is terminated on or before a certain date .

 

[Beth3]

we were given a General Release And Waiver of All Claims form in which we are basically releasing any claims which existed under the former company known, unknown suspected and unsuspected under local , state , and federal law or pertaining to unlawful discrimination in all its forms. That is standard procedure these days and in no way implies that your former employer acted unlawfully in any way. The decision to outsource security (and only security) is not at all surprising (the great majority of employers outsource security) and is not unlawful discrimination in any way, shape or form.

It states that if i sign the document I waive my right to receive severance under and in accordance with the Separations Policy of my former employer if my employment with the third party vendor is terminated on or before a certain date . I'm not sure I entirely understand this but I think that statment means that you acknowledge the former employer's separation/severance policy is no longer in force - which makes sense since that entity no longer exists and you are no longer employed by them.

What consideration ARE they offering in exchange for you signing the waiver?

When you say you're trying to contact human resources, are you speaking of your former employer or the entity who bought the mall? If you can't get hold of either group, then I suggest you speak to your new boss, the mall manager, or whoever you can get hold of in "corporpate", such as their head of HR, and ask for a copy of the document and a full explaination of what you are signing.

 

[Katy W.]

Have you put your request for a copy of the company policy in writing?

Generally, it's a bad idea to sign something stating that you agree with company policy when you haven't read the policy. If you don't get a copy of the policy from a written request, you could sign this, then write underneath; "I have not been afforded an opportunity to read the company Separations Policy, so this waiver and release does not pertain to anything involved with that policy."

 

[Beth3]

The poster should not sign the waiver until he or she understands all the particulars and has been afforded copies of the relevant documents. Since attempting to contact HR has proven unsucessful (although we don't know with which employer; it's possible all the former HR people have been laid off), he needs to try other avenues within the company. Personally, I'd contact HR at the corporate parent.