A severance agreement can affect your income, legal rights, benefits, and future career options. Before you sign, speak with a Philadelphia employment lawyer who can explain the terms, identify risks, and determine whether the offer should be negotiated.
Most severance agreements require you to release legal claims against your employer. Once the agreement becomes effective, you may lose the ability to pursue claims involving discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, unpaid compensation, or other workplace violations.
The agreement may also include confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation, non-solicitation, or restrictive covenant provisions. These terms can continue affecting you long after the severance payment has been made.
Our Philadelphia severance agreement lawyers can help you understand what the company is offering, what it expects in return, and whether the agreement protects your interests.
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The payment amount is only one part of the agreement.
A careful severance review should address the complete financial and legal impact of the proposed separation, including:
We review how these terms work together and explain which provisions may deserve clarification, removal, or negotiation.
Severance agreements are contracts, and many of their terms may be negotiable. Depending on the circumstances, an employee may request additional compensation, continued benefits, a neutral reference, revised confidentiality language, or narrower restrictions on future employment.
Negotiating effectively requires more than asking for a larger payment. Your position may depend on your employment history, the reason given for your termination, existing employment agreements, company policies, and whether you may have legal claims against the employer.
A lawyer can identify the issues that create negotiating leverage and communicate proposed changes without unnecessarily escalating the situation.
A severance offer should be reviewed in the context of how your employment ended.
Employers sometimes offer severance following a layoff, restructuring, performance dispute, resignation, or termination. The agreement may ask you to release claims involving conduct that occurred before your departure.
Potential concerns may include:
Philadelphia employees may have rights under federal law, Pennsylvania law, and local protections enforced by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission also investigates employment discrimination complaints.
Before accepting the offer, an attorney can evaluate whether the compensation reasonably reflects the rights and potential claims you are being asked to release.
Under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, a waiver of federal age discrimination claims must meet specific requirements to be considered knowing and voluntary.
An individual employee who is 40 or older generally must receive at least 21 days to consider the agreement. Employees affected by certain group termination or exit incentive programs generally receive at least 45 days. After signing, the employee must also receive at least seven days to revoke the agreement.
The agreement must advise the employee in writing to consult an attorney and provide something of value beyond compensation or benefits the employee is already entitled to receive.
These rules do not automatically make an offer fair. They establish minimum requirements for waiving certain age discrimination claims.
Get clear advice before making a decision that may be difficult to reverse.
Our severance agreement lawyers can:
Federal law does not generally require employers to provide severance pay. The right to receive severance often depends on an employment contract, company policy, benefit plan, or negotiated agreement.
Because employers often set acceptance deadlines, it is best to request legal review as early as possible.
No. You generally have the choice to accept, reject, or attempt to negotiate the offer. However, the employer may place a deadline on the offer. Before deciding, you should understand the compensation being offered and the legal rights, claims, or future options you would be giving up.
Severance pay is not automatically required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. An employer may be required to provide it when severance is promised through an employment contract, company policy, benefit plan, collective bargaining agreement, or another enforceable arrangement.
The deadline may be stated in the agreement. Employees age 40 or older generally must receive at least 21 days to consider an individual waiver of age discrimination claims. Certain group layoffs require at least 45 days, followed by a seven-day revocation period after signing. Other employees may not receive those same statutory periods, so the stated deadline should be checked immediately.
A lawyer may be able to request additional compensation or improved terms, but no specific outcome can be guaranteed. Negotiating leverage may come from potential employment claims, contractual rights, unpaid compensation, the circumstances of the termination, or provisions the employer wants you to accept.
A severance agreement cannot lawfully prevent you from filing a discrimination charge with the EEOC or participating in an EEOC investigation. However, a valid release may affect whether you can personally recover compensation for claims covered by the agreement. The exact release language should be reviewed carefully.
Yes. An amicable departure does not make every contract term harmless. The agreement may contain broad releases, confidentiality duties, repayment obligations, restrictions on future work, or enforcement provisions that were not discussed during your termination meeting.
