3rd Circuit Slaps EEOC In Release-Of-Claims Case

When Allstate Insurance Company, more than a decade ago, decided to change the way it handled its sales function by transitioning from at-will employees to contract workers, it gave existing sales employees the option of staying on as contract sales agents. But in order to do that, they would have to sign a release of all potential claims against the company up to the time of the transition. A client alert from Michael Best & Friedrich explains the legal saga that followed. It began when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit, on the grounds that refusal to sign the waiver was “protected activity,” and therefore the refusal to engage the refusniks as contract workers was a form of retaliation. After years of litigation the case went before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Last month the ruling came down, in favor of Allstate.