Layering Administrative Law and Basic Contract Principles: Analyzing the Waiver of FMLA Claims in Severance Agreements (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993‪)‬

I. INTRODUCTION Employee termination and severance package negotiation are a reality of daily corporate life. According to the Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics, in June 2006 alone corporate employers took 1097 "mass layoff actions," defined as layoffs of fifty or more workers, involving a total of 119,662 employees.(1) Many of the discharged employees likely signed standard severance agreements whereby, in exchange for monetary consideration, they released or waived any employment-related claims against their former employers. (2) Such claims include those found under federal employment statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). (3)