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Sale of Business

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Howellfirst

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

The company I work for just sold my division to small local company. My company said severance would only be paid to me if I wasn't offered a position with the purchasing company. If my company had just laid me off or closed the division I woudl receive 24 weeks of severance. Is it possible that in the sale of the business they have written in that they have to make me an offer, if so is this legal and can I challenge to receive severance? I just relocated here (relocated by the company at their request) so I would rather take my severance and head back to my home state.

Do I have a case that I should be paid severance if I am offered a position with the new company?

At what point is an offer vaild..IE what if they offer me a managment position with 1/2 pay that I currently have. What if they offer me a different position? Will my company not have to pay me severance in these cases?

Can I tell the new buyer I don't want to work for him and please do not make me an offer?

Thank you for the advice
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Is it possible that in the sale of the business they have written in that they have to make me an offer,

The unbelieveable arrogance of the above statement astounds me. They're selling off a division but they're so concerned about (a) making sure you stay employed or (b) screwing you out of your severance (your choice depending on how you feel about the company) that they would make a job offer for YOU a condition of sale? Of all the self-important statements I've ever seen, that takes the gold-plated waffle iron. Yes, it is POSSIBLE. It's also possible that the moon will fall out of the sky tonight. But it's hardly likely.

if so is this legal In the utterly unlikely condition that this happened, yes, it is legal.

can I challenge to receive severance? You can challenge anything you like. But severance is not required in your state so if you decide to challenge the statement that YOU agreed to at hire, they're just as likely to pull the offer altogether. It is rare to the point of being unheard of for severance to be available when a job offer is made.

Do I have a case that I should be paid severance if I am offered a position with the new company? Not even a ghost of a whisper of one.

At what point is an offer vaild..IE what if they offer me a managment position with 1/2 pay that I currently have. That's a matter of the agreement, not law. Under the law you are not owed one red cent of severance whether they offer you a job or not. As I said above, severance is not required by law.

What if they offer me a different position?

Then you'll have a new job.

Will my company not have to pay me severance in these cases?


Based on what you have said the agreement said, no, they would not have to pay you severance in these cases.

Can I tell the new buyer I don't want to work for him and please do not make me an offer?

If you want to risk losing both job and severance (since this would be seen as refusing a job offer) and also having the fact that you asked this question revealed in all future job references, feel free. But it would be a stupid thing to do.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
While there are certainly some assets being sold, when a "business" is sold, part of the deal is the employees. I can guarantee that if you attempted to not get an offer by directly communicating with the new owners, if the old ones got wind of it they would not pay you. If you sued, I think you would lose for interference with a contract, but I am uncertain as the facts would need to be very specific about what was occurring before really taking a guess as to the result. Then, you'd be out a job, have no severence and a bad recommendation to take with you.
 

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