Trump-Era Leeway on Severance Pact Terms Toppled by NLRB (1)

The National Labor Relations Board struck down Trump-era rulings that gave employers broad latitude to include gag orders, waivers of the right to sue, and other contractual conditions in severance agreements.

The NLRB’s Democratic majority on Tuesday overturned the board’s Baylor University Medical Center decision and its subsequent IGT d/b/a International Game Technology ruling, both of which were handed down in 2020. The board’s lone Republican member dissented.

“Baylor granted employers carte blanche to offer employees severance agreement that include unlawful provisions,” the NLRB majority said. “That cannot be correct under the Act, a statute designed to protect employees ...