There was been continuous between myself and the doctor's office manager. I met with the doctor and explained that I could no longer take the manager's beratement and aggressive behavior. He accepted my resignation but wants a signed NDA upon my exit. Should I? Can I ask for a severance settlement? I have been there 12 years.
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A location would be helpful to provide a meaningful answer. – Joel Etherton Jun 11 '21 at 23:43
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3There's a word missing between 'continuous' and 'between' in the first sentence. I have never signed an NDA though, so I can't speak to how one would benefit you. (Might be useful as leverage here since you want severance but I'll let folks with experience speak to whether that's a good idea.) – BSMP Jun 11 '21 at 23:45
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2Does this answer your question? Being asked to sign a "termination certificate" 6 months after resigning – mxyzplk Jun 11 '21 at 23:51
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Also related: What benefits are there in signing a non-compete after resigning, with no formal contract of employment? – EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine Jun 12 '21 at 02:32
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10Never sign any contract that doesn't benefit you. Does signing this benefit you? It doesn't sound like it does, so don't sign it. You're under no obligation to sign it. – user428517 Jun 12 '21 at 03:25
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(Disclaimer: This is only if you live in the U.S.) Don't sign that crap. If they wanted an NDA, that should have been on hire. Never sign anything that restricts you without benefit. In the case of new hire, signing allows you to get the job. In the case of leaving, they can't stop you from leaving, and signing an NDA will restrict your actions in the future. Don't. Sign. – Carson Jun 14 '21 at 21:05
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You really should be under no obligation to sign an NDA at this point. Since you've resigned you're not receiving any sort of severance. Asking for one just seems like shaking the money tree at this point. Depending on the legality of it in your locale, they might hold your final paycheck/payout until the NDA is signed.
I personally wouldn't sign it without at least thoroughly reading it first. Who knows if there is a special clause in there surrendering any kind of employment rights or something.
Joel Etherton
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7"they might hold your final paycheck/payout until the NDA is signed." in many US jurisdictions, this is treble damages if you can prove that the company was acting with malice. – Jun 12 '21 at 00:30
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12Withholding wages due until the employee does something they're not obligated to do is almost certainly illegal everywhere. That's not to say the company can't get away with it or try it, but saying it might be legal somewhere sounds like a stretch. – Erik Jun 12 '21 at 06:21
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@Erik: it's a grey area because of something you said: "something they're not obligated to do". A company could argue that the NDA was a company policy OP was obligated to complete. I agree with you that either way it's shady, and based on OP's description of the employer it's something that would be on my mind in their shoes. – Joel Etherton Jun 12 '21 at 12:58
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1The company presumably would have to provide proof they make all employees sign an NDA when they leave. If they do that then they can proof the NDA has nothing to do with the bullying, although the author might have a case, with regards to the bullying itself. Feeling forced to offer your resignation due to bullying by other employees or specifically managers can result in damages being rewarded in some jurisdictions. However, it has to be proven, which can be difficult. – Donald Jun 12 '21 at 13:25
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@Donald: the employee is actually burdened with proving it's not. You're right it that damages can be rewarded, and a company that has already shown a low value in ethical behavior is one I would say is likely to force the issue. Even still, that's the "maximum risk" I see for OP in not signing the NDA, so signing it would be a bad choice at this point. – Joel Etherton Jun 12 '21 at 14:40
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I am also saying signing the NDA is a horrible idea (but I have no idea what the NDA covers) so it’s certainly difficult to say I wouldn’t sign it under any situation. Additionally, if the employee were to take the employer to court, they would have to defend their NDA to some degree. That opens the door to why the NDA was asked to be signed. We don’t know the entire story, being a mean person at work, doesn’t mean you are doing anything illegal it just means your [insert your favorite phrase here to describe awful people] – Donald Jun 12 '21 at 14:48
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@tuskiomi: Key phrase in your comment - "if you can prove". It is incredibly hard to prove, and the burden of proof lies solely on the wronged employee. – Joel Etherton Jun 12 '21 at 16:12
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3@JoelEtherton No. There is no burden on the employee. Employer policy is irrelevant. Workers must be paid for all hours that they show up to work, period. Employers are not permitted to say "we're not happy with the details of your work, we're not paying you" (that would be wildly abused). The employer's only recourse is to fire the employee (and deal with unemployment claims...) before the notice period ends, if they're not happy with performance. – nobody Jun 12 '21 at 16:49
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@nobody: "prove the company was acting with malice". You've taken my comment much farther than it extends. Proving a company is acting with malice is much harder than it sounds. – Joel Etherton Jun 12 '21 at 17:57
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4Huh? I never said anything about malice. You're the one saying "A company could argue that the NDA was a company policy OP was obligated to complete". No. Pay may not be withheld for violations of "policy". All hours worked must be paid. End of story. If you know of a jurisdiction that works otherwise, please name it. – nobody Jun 12 '21 at 18:12
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@nobody: you were replying to one of my comments. My comment was in reference to tuskiomi's comment. That's where the proving of malice comes into play. That's the context of the comment. – Joel Etherton Jun 12 '21 at 20:08
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@JoelEtherton, I don't think Tuskiomi phrased it correctly. The fact is, upon receiving a complaint from the employee, the Department of Labor in most states, will usually contact the company directly and ask why the employee wasn't paid. There is usually little to prove. Then, the company can either lie about the check being in the mail or whatever, but the employer has to take such requests seriously if it doesn't want to get fined. In California, the department of labor has even more power than a bankruptcy judge (if the issue gets presented to them before it gets to bankruptcy court). – Stephan Branczyk Jun 13 '21 at 06:39
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If they withhold payment until you sign an NDA, that is “with malice”. – gnasher729 Jan 10 '23 at 07:55
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One bit of advice that’s too late for you but not for others: if you are bullied or harassed you contact a lawyer before you quit.
You are under no obligation to sign anything. So you ask them what settlement they offer. A settlement usually consists of money and conditions. For example “we pay you $X, and in return you promise not to sue us and sign an NDA”. Then you decide whether the money is worth it to accept the conditions, so either you accept it or not.
You didn’t say which country you are in. In the UK, you would get unemployment and call it “constructive dismissal”; with 12 years employment you would be legally entitled to a significant settlement. So the company would have to take this into account when they offer a settlement.
brhans
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gnasher729
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It depends what you want to achieve. Most people prefer to just move forwards with their careers with minimal drama, but some don't.
I suggest you just ignore the request for a signed NDA at this point. If you get paid then you can just leave. If they try and pressure you to sign you can deal with it at that time.
Your main concern is getting paid.
If they pressure you or it means more to you than the hassle, then by all means seek a settlement payment. If they want an NDA, they need to make it worth your while.
Kilisi
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