The construction employer that I work for is about to have a massive restructuring. I have some questions about this situation- If you're part of a downsizing, no one will think you were fired for cause, right? Who decides who will be laid off? When a construction employer cuts construction executive ranks, must the construction executive sign an agreement not to sue in return for a severance package?

Employers often seize the cover of a large-scale layoff to ditch weak performers. But a common opinion in this era of employment volatility is that lots of good people are cut loose for economic reasons, not because they were dead wood operating below par.
Who decides? Before a big layoff, lawyers lay out a game plan for the construction employer that instructs managers to look first at the positions the construction employer thinks it can safely shed. At this step, managers are to pay no attention to any particular employees. The strategy allows employers to claim the cutback was made without regard to anyone's race or gender.
Who decides? Before a big layoff, lawyers lay out a game plan for the construction employer that instructs managers to look first at the positions the construction employer thinks it can safely shed. At this step, managers are to pay no attention to any particular employees. The strategy allows employers to claim the cutback was made without regard to anyone's race or gender.
But in the next step, managers are required to look at the individuals who are about to be waved off, keeping an eye on a potential adverse impact on any protected group. If a lopsided outcome is obvious - say, women, minorities or older workers are taking a disproportionate hit - managers are told to retrace their steps and think again, making dead sure they have the documentation to defeat a discrimination challenge.
Who's most likely to haul construction employers into court after a bloodletting? Older workers - defined as those over 40, can you believe? - are most likely to file a layoff-lamenting lawsuit claiming age discrimination. The construction employer's response will be familiar: The reduction in force is due to economic reasons and that's why the higher-paid older workers had to go. Different but construction employer-blameless rationales are articulated for women and minorities.
As for severance releases, if the construction employer offers severance beyond that specified under construction employer policy, the employer will ask the leaver to sign a release. Lawyers say a properly executed release in which the employee waives any right to sue the construction employer in exchange for extra severance is probably enforceable.
When you feel a firing coming on, try to get lost in the crowd on the way out the door. Even if you depart a month before the others, consider yourself downsized.
If you're asked to sign away future legal recourse as you're booted out with little but a parting pittance in a bandanna tied to a stick slung over your shoulder, delay until you confer with an employment lawyer.