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To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (6404)	7/28/1998 1:49:00 PM
From: Jim Willie CB	Respond to of 10921

<<severance packages serve to bribe the affected employee(s) not to sue, and they sometimes come with clauses to that effect.>> I personally signed such a contract for my Digital severance in 1992. Consulted a lawyer and was informed that such contracts are easily challenged as "under duress" and "quid pro quo". Some might argue that QpQ is fair, but not when the severance package is in lieu of a corporate contributed unemploymt insurance program run by the state of Massachusetts. Easily challenged. But you are right, it works as an emotional bribe out of gratitude. Non-compete clauses are tight, but they are only forced for upper managers and key individuals... not someone like a market research statistician flying along in the middle lane FWIW, Jim Willie

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (6404)	7/28/1998 3:10:00 PM
From: Herschel Rubin	Respond to of 10921

Katherine, you're right on target about severance packages as a means of forestalling lawsuits. In several companies that I'm familiar with, employees who belong to certain "minority" ethnic groups were given lavish severance packages along with their pink slip, essentially as a form of bribery to prevent possible discrimination litigation. One person of color who happened to be totally incompetent from any objective standpoint was given two expensive workstations as a part of his severance package. Because of the political climate in this country, I would expect severance packages to continue because (unfortunately) they remain a rational business practice.