Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Shook

OPINION

EASTAUGH, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

Under Alaska law, an employee may not privately settle a wage and hour claim for a sum less than the damages required by the Alaska Wage and Hour Act (AWHA). In exchange for a large employment severance payment, Thomas Shook released his former employer, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, “from any and all claims ... arising from his employment or as a result of this separation of employment.” When Shook later sued Alyeska claiming AWHA violations, Alyeska moved for summary judgment on the theory the severance payment fully offset, and thus extinguished,…