The separation agreements that Meta had thousands of its former employees sign during a mass layoff in 2022 were deemed unlawful by a recently published decision from a judge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Meta laid off 7,511 of its U.S.-based employees between August 21, 2022, and February 20, 2023. Approximately 96% of those former employees — 7,236 — voluntarily signed a separation agreement that offered increased severance pay and other benefits in exchange for relinquishing their rights to publicly discuss their employment or termination.
However, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Andrew Gollin stated in his recent decision that the non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses in the agreements violated workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
Specifically, the decision pointed out that Meta’s separation agreements encroached on the employees’ rights in Section 7 of the act, which grants employees the right to seek improvements in their working conditions and terms of employment both within and outside their immediate employer-employee relationship.
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The decision also indicated that Meta’s separation agreements violated Section 8(a)(1) of the act, making it an unfair labor practice for companies to impede or restrain employees from exercising their Section 7 rights.
The judge recommended that the tech company immediately cease utilizing separation agreements with the “unlawful, overbroad non-disparagement and confidentiality sections” and inform all past employees who signed the agreements that those clauses have been rescinded and will not be enforced. Meta will also need to certify compliance with the remedies.
The case was initiated at the NLRB by David James Carlson, a former Meta employee who signed a separation agreement, following the board’s decision on McLaren Macomb in February 2023. This decision upheld the ruling that employers cannot offer severance agreements that broadly waive employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
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While Meta had previously denied allegations of violating federal labor laws, the company has not issued a statement following the publication of the judge’s decision last week.
