Executive Employment Agreements

Employment agreements for corporate executives can be complex. These agreements include complicated compensation structures and post-employment restrictions that could have lasting implications on your career: Forfeiture clauses; restrictive covenants; claw-backs; non-ERISA vs ERISA plans.

Non-Compete Agreements

Employment agreements may contain covenants not to compete, which restrict your employment options upon separation. Generally speaking, it’s not illegal – or uncommon - for a company to ask its employees to sign a non-compete agreement after hiring them.

Non-Solicitation Agreements

Under a non-solicitation agreement – also known as a “no poach” agreement -- an employee agrees not to “solicit” the company’s other employees to leave the company. A non-solicitation clause could also refer to an employee’s agreement not to “solicit” the company’s clients or customers or to encourage them to leave the company. But what happens if a current company employee solicits a former employee? Or if a current company client reaches out to a former company employee? The facts of your situation, and the law of your state, will influence what a former employee can and cannot do after signing a non-solicitation agreement.

Separation Agreements

Successful separation negotiations aren’t just about severance pay. Although we always want to maximize benefits for our client, a good separation agreement also looks to minimize the impact of the separation on your future and give significant immediate value in the transition to new employment.

DMV Employees - Alden Law Group, PLLC

DMV Employees

District of Columbia

District of Columbia government employees and applicants enjoy job protections from unfair or discriminatory personnel decisions. If you feel that you are facing a wrongful employment practice, you might be able to file with the D.C. Office of Employee Appeals (OEA), a discrimination claim with the EEOC or the DC Office of Human Rights, or, in some cases, a union grievance.

Office of Employee Appeals

The D.C. Office of Employee Appeals (OEA) is an independent agency of the District government charged with ensuring that District agencies follow the law when they discipline their employees. OEA will hear employee appeals of adverse employment actions, Read more »

D.C. Employees Discrimination Complaints

If you are a District employee or applicant and you wish to file a complaint alleging discrimination or a complaint concerning reprisal for engaging in protected EEO activity, you can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or with a certified D.C. Equal Employment Opportunity counselor (followed by a formal complaint filed with the D.C. Office of Human Rights). Read more »

Union Grievance Processes

If you are a District employee, and if you are covered by a union contract, you may have the option of filing a grievance which could result in an arbitration hearing. Depending on what your union’s contract allows, you might be able to file a grievance concerning unfair personnel decisions like demotions and terminations, discrimination, or whistleblowing reprisal. The first step is to talk with your union representative and to read your agreement.

We are experienced labor attorneys and can help you understand the risks and benefits of pursuing your claims through your union agreement as opposed to the other options that may be available to you. To learn more about how we might be able to help you with your union grievance, call us.

D.C. Government Whistleblowing Rights

The DC whistleblower protections apply to all District government agencies, including independent agencies, DC Public Schools, the University of D.C. Board of Trustees and the DC Housing Authority. Read more »

Virginia

If you work for the Commonwealth of Virginia or one of its Counties, you have employment rights and ways to enforce those rights.

Virginia State Grievance Process

The Virginia Department of Human Resource Management has a grievance process that Virginia state employees can use to protect their job rights. The process allows for informal resolution of workplace disputes through mediation, which is an informal process involving a neutral third party who helps the employee and the employer find common ground and amicably resolve their disagreements. Read more »

Virginia County Grievance Process

If you are an employee of a county in Virginia, your county probably has a grievance procedure that you can use to challenge adverse employee actions. With few exceptions, each county has its own procedure which you can probably find through your county’s Human Resources office or on-line. Your county’s grievance procedure should tell you important information you need to know, such as whether you are entitled to use the grievance process and your and your agency’s deadlines. The procedures will also tell you if you are entitled to have an attorney represent you in your grievance.

Call us if you want to talk about your grievance rights and how to protect them.

Virginia State Employee Whistleblowing Rights

The Virginia State grievance procedure offers protections for state employees who are subjected to adverse personnel actions because of their whistleblowing activities. The procedure says that a personnel decision, such as termination or suspension without pay, cannot be based on “acts of retaliation for participating in the grievance process, complying with any law or reporting a violation of such law to a governmental authority, seeking to change any law before Congress or the General Assembly, reporting an incidence of fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement, or exercising any right otherwise protected by law.” Virginia Code § 2.2-3003. The employee has to file a grievance under the Virginia State grievance process within 30 days.