Bank’s severance deal requires IT workers to be on call for two years

SunTrust Banks in Atlanta is laying off about 100 IT employees as it moves work offshore. But this layoff is unusual for what the employer is asking of its soon-to-be displaced workers: SunTrust's severance agreement requires terminated employees to remain available for two years to provide help if needed, including in-person assistance, and to do so without compensation.  

The bank's severance deal includes a "continuing cooperation" clause for a period of two years, where the employee agrees to "make myself reasonably available" to SunTrust "regarding matters in which I have been involved in the course of my employment with SunTrust and/or about which I have knowledge as a result of my employment at SunTrust." 

SunTrust statement: 

It is a rare occasion when we need to call a former employee. The “continuing cooperation” clause is designed to assist the company under scenarios that arise infrequently when we need access to knowledge possessed by a former employee. Those scenarios primarily relate to regulatory or legal matters. For instance, we may need to reach out to former employees to ensure we accurately understand situations in which they were involved while employed by the company. SunTrust has never used this provision to require a former employee to be “on call” to help conduct day-to-day business in any way.

DYI Comments:  I'm going to have to side with the company unless there are articles in the future supporting the claim of being available for up to two years for regular work details.  If true SunTrust would be able to get away with it for the first three months.  As time would roll on these let go ex-employees patient would wear thin quickly.  After a year most would simply tell SunTrust to stick it where the sun don't shine.  How they[SunTrust] would be able to enforce such a stipulation is highly questionable if not outright impossible.

DYI