Severance Package

North American Vaccine Inc. says a lawsuit filed by its ousted president, Sharon Mates, is nothing more than "a shakedown" for more money, and the company has asked a federal judge to dismiss the suit, federal court records show."

MCI Communications Corp. said it will close a telemarketing center in Linthicum next month, displacing about 600 workers.All of the workers at the facility -- which opened in 1994 -- will have the option of remaining with MCI, either in its offices in Hunt Valley or in Atlanta, where much of the same customer service and sales work is done, officials said yesterday."

Larry C. Glasscock, chief executive of the District of Columbia Blue Cross plan, walked away with a $2.8 million severance package when his company joined with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland.The payout to Glasscock was part of a $13 million one-time charge reported yesterday by the two Blue Cross plans in their quarterly reports.Glasscock left in March to become senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Anthem Inc., an Indiana insurer that runs Blue Cross plans in four states.

WASHINGTON -- A woman who took a company's severance package and promised not to sue should be able to keep the money, even though she later filed suit for discrimination, a Clinton administration lawyer told the Supreme Court yesterday.In an important case in an era of corporate downsizing, lawyers arguing on behalf of Dolores Oubre told the court that she signed an illegal agreement not to sue, and, therefore, was entitled to keep all of her severance package.As several justices noted, the case could affect millions of workers who accept buyouts on the condition that they will not later sue for discrimination.

WASHINGTON -- Alexander & Alexander Services Inc. President and Chairman Frank Zarb will leave the company after it merges with Aon Corp., taking at least $12 million in cash as part of his severance.The company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that "the employment of Frank Zarb with the surviving corporation shall be terminated without cause" after the merger.Aon announced last week that it would purchase Alexander & Alexander for $1.23 billion, creating one of the nation's largest insurance brokerage companies.

The planned Constellation Energy Corp. has established a severance package for middle managers and rank-and-file workers that is far more modest than benefits senior management will receive.The Constellation severance package, to be paid in a lump sum determined by length of service, will be paid to employees in the estimated 1,250 positions that Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and the Potomac Electric Power Co. expect to slash after their anticipated merger in March 1997.Under the severance plan, each employee will receive two weeks' pay for every year of service, or a minimum of eight weeks pay. Limited medical and dental benefits will also be included.

Bad news: you've been fired. And the last thing you probably feel like doing is negotiating with the person who has just axed you. But that's just what you should do to secure the best possible severance package.No law says a company must give you severance, although many employers offer it anyway -- typically one or two weeks of pay for each year of service. You have the best chance of getting a better deal if you have a possible legal claim, say for discrimination based on race, sex or age.Whether or not you do, though, there's nothing wrong with asking for more than the company has offered, says Bonnie Bennett, an attorney with the law firm of Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh in St. Paul, Minn.

Michael D. Sullivan had 18 good years at Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., building it into a powerful apparel empire where, for a time, the stock soared as high as the sales.He had two very bad years, presiding over Merry-Go-Round's too-fast growth, poor fashion choices, a slide into bankruptcy court and huge losses. Last month he resigned under pressure from creditors and shareholders.Does Mr. Sullivan, who was the company's president, now deserve a proposed severance package that includes up to $790,000 in cash?

WASHINGTON -- Federal employees are being advised to carefully consider the buyout package that will be offered under the Clinton administration proposal to reduce the size of the federal work force."

Ex-MNC executive's severance pay in doubtAfter Peter Gartman left his job as vice chairman and chief financial officer of MNC Financial Inc. in May, he told the company in no uncertain terms that it had promised him a hefty severance package, including future consulting fees and a percentage of his salary for a certain period.But those who recall what the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) did to former MNC chairman Alan Hoblitzell more than a year ago probably can guess what happened to Mr. Gartman's money.

William L. Jews is entitled to only half of his $18 million severance package from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Maryland's top insurance regulator said yesterday in a ruling that accuses the former chief executive of abandoning the insurer's nonprofit mission. In a 65-page order, state Insurance Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler wrote that CareFirst's board had violated a 2003 state law requiring executive pay for the nonprofit to meet a "fair and reasonable" standard. The decision marks the first test of the law, which was passed by legislators furious with Jews for trying to convert CareFirst to a for-profit entity and sell it to a California company.

Corporate pay critics were prepared to cheer the abrupt departure of embattled Home Depot Inc. chief Robert Nardelli yesterday - but then they got a look at the bill. Nardelli, who was one of the nation's best-paid chief executives, will get a severance package valued at $210 million. That dismayed corporate watchdogs who have seen a string of departing CEOs collect high-dollar payouts in recent months. "This board should be ashamed of themselves," said Nell Minow, an expert on executive compensation at the Corporate Library research firm.

DALLAS -- David Edmondson leaves RadioShack Corp. with a black eye for enhancing his resume. His reputation also took a blow from the 25 percent plunge in the retailer's share price during his nine-month tenure as chief executive. But a payout of about $1.5 million in cash and stock could help ease the pain. That kind of money grates on people unaccustomed to the golden handshakes, golden handcuffs, golden parachutes and multimillion-dollar compensation packages that are commonplace in executive suites.

More than two months after he resigned, Baltimore County government's former top lawyer continues to be paid his $150,000-a-year salary - and he is to receive another $80,000 when he leaves the payroll next month. Former County Attorney Jay L. Liner has been kept on the county payroll as a consultant to the government on several lawsuits, a spokesman for County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said. Liner, who resigned Nov. 4, will stop receiving county paychecks Feb. 10, when he will receive a severance package and his work with the county will end. As a consultant, Liner has met with county officials a "couple" of times but mostly communicates with them by phone, Smith spokesman Donald I. Mohler said.

A day after Fannie Mae reported the lucrative pay and benefits it plans to bestow on its departing senior executives, critics assailed the company for providing such a soft landing to officials accused of profiting from flawed accounting. Franklin D. Raines, forced out last week as Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive after five years, is to receive more than $19 million in cash and stock plus a lifetime monthly pension of about $114,000, according to an agreement with the mortgage lending giant.

On the eve of announcing that a New York police commander will be the city's next top police officer, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said last night that he regretted what he characterized as a "sweetheart" severance package given to former Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris. Kevin P. Clark is expected to be introduced as the new commissioner today, sources close to the mayor said. O'Malley's comments regarding Norris were further evidence of increasing strains in the once warm relationship between the mayor and his former commissioner, whose three-year tenure in the job ended last month when he joined the Maryland State Police as superintendent.

Attempting to quell a furious reaction from employees outraged that he stood to profit from a merger with Dynegy Inc., Kenneth L. Lay, the chairman and chief executive of Enron Corp., decided late yesterday to give up a severance package worth more than $60 million. The tumult at Enron's headquarters in Houston began after the company disclosed in a securities filing early in the day that Lay was in line to collect $60.6 million in pay after the deal closed next year - $20.2 million for every full calendar year left in his employment contract, which expires in 2005.

NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch & Co. said yesterday that it is offering its 65,900 employees a severance package that may be worth more than one year's salary as leaders of the biggest securities firm accelerate cost-cutting efforts. Employees will have between Monday and early November to accept the offer, said spokesman Joseph Cohen. Those who decline the offer, the first of its kind at the 116-year-old firm, risk being fired in the drive to shore up earnings. "There are probably a few stressed-out people who might take them up on that," said Geoff Hance, an analyst at Northern Trust Corp.

International Paper Co. said yesterday that it laid off 78 people at its Odenton plant because of falling demand for the products manufactured there. The plant, which now has 510 employees, makes laminates for kitchen and bathroom countertops. "It's kind of rough because we've never seen a layoff of this magnitude," said Bryan Allen, president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 679, which represents workers at the plant. He said the layoffs were made according to seniority and that the union and the company are still discussing what type of severance package will be offered.

Corvis Corp. added its name yesterday to the list of telecommunications companies that will be reducing payroll in the thick of an industry slowdown. The Columbia-based maker of fiber-optic equipment announced that it would cut 250 positions, or about 15 percent of its work force. The company will give employees the option of leaving voluntarily in exchange for a severance package. "This is one part of our overall reduction, if you will, streamlining costs," said Andy Backman, director of investor and public relations for Corvis.