Employee-side employment law
Understand your severance agreement before you decide
Scope and fees explained before engagement. Accepting inquiries nationwide
Are you being pressured to sign before you understand the leverage?
A severance agreement trades legal rights for compensation or other terms. Review is not limited to the headline payment. Employees should understand the release, deadlines, taxes, benefits, confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation duties, restrictive covenants, equity treatment, and consequences of breach.
Facts worth a closer look
- A short deadline paired with pressure not to seek advice
- A release broader than the offered consideration appears to justify
- Unclear treatment of bonuses, commissions, equity, benefits, or unemployment
- New restrictions that did not exist during employment
Records that may matter
- The complete proposed agreement and every attachment
- Offer letters, compensation plans, equity documents, and prior agreements
- The termination explanation and evidence related to possible claims
- A list of practical priorities beyond the headline payment
How the law frames it
What the agreement asks you to give up
A release can waive significant employment claims, but enforceability requirements vary by the law, claim, employee, wording, and circumstances.
Federal law gives workers age 40 and older specific protections for waivers of age-discrimination claims, including consideration and revocation requirements in covered situations.
State and local law can differ, and existing employment, compensation, commission, equity, confidentiality, or restrictive-covenant agreements can materially affect the analysis and leverage.
How location affects your case
This page is general educational information, not legal advice. The cited federal sources establish a starting point. Coverage, defenses, procedures, and deadlines can change under state or local law and depend on the employer, forum, claim, and facts.
Employee-side experience
David Manes
An employee-side employment litigator and law firm founder focused on sexual harassment and workplace discrimination who has overseen more than 3,500 matters since 2013.
Experience and credentialsAn inquiry does not guarantee assignment to a particular attorney.
What an agreement review involves
Tell us you have a severance agreement and whether the offer gives you a date to respond. We’ll discuss whether we can help, the scope of the review, and fees before you decide to hire us.
No documents are needed to request a review. Submitting an inquiry does not establish representation or protect a deadline.
Related guide
Severance agreements: what to know before you sign
Severance review
Understand the agreement before you decide.
Tell us you have an agreement to review. We’ll discuss whether we can help and explain the scope and fees before you decide to hire us.
- No obligation to hire us
- Scope and fees explained before engagement
- Accepting inquiries nationwide