I am purchasing an existing business and intend to rehire all of the existing employees. I will be operating the business under a totally different legal name.
The existing owner is terminating the employees and is giving them proper notice however I don't know if he is paying them any severance. Most of these employess are long term (20 years +). Does the old owner have to pay them severance when I am immediately rehiring them or does the obligation fall to me to pay them severance when they leave going back to when the started i.e. 20 years? Do the employees maintain their length of service for such things as vacation and benefits or do they start new when I take over?
Thank you for your response

If you are purchasing an existing business you should definitely meet with a lawyer to discuss in detail the purchase/sale transaction and what your potential liabilities may be with respect to the employees you keep on. There are a lot of factors to review in order to assess your questions and this is not something we can answer through this online forum. Some things, for instance, that need to be considered are the type of sale that is occurring, whether the purchase/sale agreement stipulates employee's severance entitlements, whether the employees are subject to employment contracts, etc.

Please contact the number below should you wish to schedule a meeting with one of our employment lawyers to further review your matter in detail.