Q: I sued Company A and settled. Found employment at Company B. Company A bought Company B. Will I be terminated?
I worked for Company A from 2016-2018. I sued for wrongful termination and settled. I found employment at Company B in late 2018. Company A recently bought Company B and will begin to merge shortly. After reviewing the settlement agreement there was a clause "Agreement not to seek future employment and neutral reference". Can I anticipate I will be terminated upon the merge? Is there anything I can do?
A:
Depending on the language of your settlement agreement, once the purchase is complete, the new owners may have the contractual right to terminate you. You should have a lawyer review the specific language.
In addition, California is an at will employment state, so you can be terminated for any reason or no reason, but not a prohibited reason such as hostility toward your membership in or association with a protected class or opposing illegal conduct.
Neil Pedersen agrees with this answer
A:
I am sorry but the answer depends on the specific language of your settlement agreement. If you have contractually agreed to be terminated, then yes, it is possible that will occur.
Good luck to you.
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