Q: A person is terminated (not temporarily laid off) due to company downsizing because of Covid-19, wrongful termination?

A: No, terminations occurring because of business needs arising out of the Covid-19 effects on our economy are not legally wrongful. In California an employee is considered to be employed at will unless there is an agreement to the contrary with the employer about that status. The employer of an at will employee can terminate the employee at any time and for any reason or even no reason at all. Economic realities will make it impossible for employers to keep employees employed. There is nothing legally wrongful about employers reacting to these business realities.

If you sign the severance agreement you will be foreclosed from bringing any actions in the future against the employer. It is usually a good idea to have an attorney review a severance agreement and the surrounding circumstances to determine if there are more valuable rights you might be giving up.

Good luck to you.

A: While I agree for the most part with Mr. Pedersen's opinion, most importantly you should have the severance agreement reviewed by an experienced attorney who handles wrongful terminations. There are several reasons why you should do this. Since you've been with the company for 20 years, I'm guessing that you are over 40 years of age. If you were selected for downsizing over employees under 40, the downsizing itself could be the result of age discrimination, unless it targets all employees equally regardless of age and years of service. Therefore, if you were to sign the severance package and the release of all claims, you would be forfeiting any rights you have to pursue an age discrimination case. I'm not suggesting you have such a claim, only that it would be better if you had the advice of a lawyer who has handled these kinds of cases before you take any action on the company's offer.