Nature of Employment

All employees at Lakeland are at-will employees. This means that there is no definite term of employment and that the employment relationship may be terminated with or without cause, with or without advance notice, and at the option of either the employee or Lakeland. In addition, no person other than the Cooperative Board has the authority to enter into any agreement for employment for any specified period of time or to otherwise modify an employee?s at-will employment status. To be binding, any agreement to modify an employee?s at-will employment status must be in writing, specifically acknowledging that it is a modification of this policy, and signed by both the employee and the Cooperative Board by its authorized representative.

Policies set forth in this handbook are not intended to create a contract, nor are they to be construed to constitute any legal or contractual obligation for employment or benefits between Lakeland and any of its employees. The provisions of the handbook have been developed at the discretion of Cooperative Board and, in order to retain flexibility in the administration of these policies and provisions, it reserves the right to change, revise, or eliminate any of the policies and/or benefits described in this handbook, except for its policy of employment at-will.

Policy No.  101  Issued  10/1/2002  Applicable  8/8/2002