Halvorson v. Boy Scouts of America, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 9648 (6^th Cir. May 3, 2000) (unpublished)-Charles Halvorson sued the Boy Scouts of America alleging that the Boy Scouts forced him to resign or to agree not to take short-term medical leave for back problems. This court affirmed the district court's summary judgment against Halvorson on the grounds that Halvorson's resignation contained a valid waiver of the right to sue on ERISA grounds (although not ADEA grounds.)  Furthermore, Halvorson admitted that no one told him he had to sign the release or the  Boy Scouts would fire him.  Rather, the Boys Scouts presented the agreement as an alternative to working under the probationary performance improvement plan, which the Boy Scouts had discussed with Halvorson in relation to Halvorson's poor job performance.

            On his ADEA claim, Halvorson failed to present evidence of pretextual firing.  Halvorson "was offered resignation as an alternative to improving his performance under the probationary plan, and the choice was clearly his."