Why You Should Never Sign a Severance Agreement Right Away

It has to be tempting to sign a severance agreement right away. You were just terminated, you are probably wondering about how you are going to pay bills, make ends meet, find your next job, etc. The severance you’ve been offered seems like a lifeline. Maybe it is...

But You Should Never Sign a Severance Agreement Right Away.

Your severance agreement was written specifically to help your employer – not you. Thus, your severance agreement makes you give up nearly every right you have under federal, state and city law, like claims for discrimination, breach of contract, defamation, unlawful termination, human rights violations, and certain wage payment laws. The agreement may also prevent you from working for a similar employer, from contacting your former co-workers or clients, and making certain statements about the company.

Your employer also drafted the severance agreement to protect itself in the event that you breach. For example, your agreement probably permits your employer to seek “injunctive relief” or to seek attorney’s fees in the event of a breach of the agreement (but does not permit you to seek attorney’s fees if the company breaches).

Your employer also drafted the severance agreement with an offer of payment. That offer may not properly value the claims you are giving up, your contribution to the company, or your personal circumstances. When I used to advise companies about how to draft severance agreements, I would always give them the following advice:

“You should offer the minimum amount that this person would accept to shut up and go away forever.”

Still Think You Should Sign Right Away?

Why not speak to a severance lawyer? Granovsky & Sundaresh specializes in severance agreements. We offer two services in this regard. First, we can review your agreement with you paragraph-by-paragraph to make sure that, at a minimum, you are an educated consumer. For some clients, however, we also negotiate severance.

Our Pricing For These Services is 100% Transparent:

• For review and consultation, we charge a flat fee - $600. This fee includes a complete review of your agreement, assistance with revising the agreement if necessary, and a bank of time for issues that arise in the future (e.g., if a non-compete issue comes up in the future, we will consult with you on this as well).
• For negotiation of severance agreements, we charge a contingency fee of 1/3 of the monetary improvement we attain for you. There is no fee unless we improve your severance.

Yes, You May be Able to Improve Your Severance

We specialize in negotiating severance agreements. We have improved our clients’ severance agreements in 91% of our cases (as of April 1, 2017).

You owe it to yourself and to your career to understand and improve your situation. 

Contact us today. Call 646-524-6001. You will be speaking to an specialized severance attorney within 24 hours.