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<\/p>\nA severance agreement can have a significant impact on your finances, benefits, and ability to pursue future legal claims after leaving a job. Employers may use severance agreements to protect their interests, while employees may negotiate for terms that better protect their own rights.<\/p>\n
A severance agreement may contain several provisions that can affect your financial and professional future. Before signing, carefully review the terms and consider how they could affect your benefits, legal rights, and ability to find future employment.<\/p>\n
Your pension is an important benefit that you may have worked for throughout your employment. Before signing a severance agreement, determine whether you will continue to receive the pension benefits you have earned and whether the agreement affects any of your existing retirement rights.<\/p>\n
You should also review what happens to your 401(k). If your employer provided a matching contribution and you were not fully vested when your employment ended, you may lose some or all of the employer-matched funds. Understanding your vesting status and retirement benefits can help you make a more informed decision.<\/p>\n
A Los Angeles employment lawyer can help you identify provisions in a severance agreement that may affect your compensation or benefits.<\/p>\n
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Some severance agreements include confidentiality provisions that limit what an employee can disclose about the employer, the company, or the circumstances surrounding the employee’s departure.<\/p>\n
Before agreeing to a confidentiality provision, make sure you understand exactly what information it covers and what you are prohibited from discussing. It may also be important to understand what the employer can say about you after your employment ends.<\/p>\n
An experienced employment lawyer can review the confidentiality provisions and explain how they may affect you.<\/p>\n
There is generally no federal law requiring most private employers to provide severance pay simply because an employee is terminated. Whether you are entitled to severance may depend on an employment contract, company policy, an existing severance plan, or an agreement negotiated with your employer.<\/p>\n
Employees are generally entitled to receive wages they have already earned, subject to applicable federal and California wage laws. Other compensation and benefits may be governed by separate rules.<\/p>\n
Because severance rights can depend on the specific circumstances of your employment and termination, an employment lawyer can help you understand what you may be entitled to receive.<\/p>\n
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) provides protections for workers age 40 and older. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) establishes additional requirements for certain waivers of age discrimination claims in severance agreements.<\/p>\n
For certain agreements, an employee age 40 or older must generally be given at least 21 days to consider the agreement and seven days after signing to revoke it. The specific requirements can vary depending on the circumstances and the type of agreement involved.<\/p>\n
If you are 40 or older and have been asked to sign a severance agreement that includes a release of age discrimination claims, consulting an employment attorney in Los Angeles before signing can help you understand whether the agreement meets applicable requirements.<\/p>\n
Not every employee has an employment contract or existing severance agreement that guarantees severance pay. However, the circumstances surrounding your termination may still be important, particularly if you believe you were terminated because of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or another unlawful reason.<\/p>\n
If your employer has offered you a severance agreement, do not feel pressured to sign it without understanding the terms. An experienced employment law firm in Los Angeles can review the agreement and help you determine whether the proposed terms adequately protect your interests.<\/p>\n
Shegerian Conniff represents employees throughout California in matters involving severance agreements, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and other employment law issues. Our Los Angeles employment attorneys can review your situation and help you understand your legal options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3234,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"taxopractice_areas":[6],"class_list":["post-959","practice_areas","type-practice_areas","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","taxopractice_areas-employment-law"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n