Five Facts About Negotiating Severance

Get it in writing    If you’ve been fired, your employer doesn’t have to offer you a severance package.  But if they do, they have to put it in writing and stick to it.  They also have to provide you a copy of it in writing.

Weigh your options    If you’ve been fired from an executive or management position, a severance offer could include requiring you to promise not to sue them later in exchange for the severance pay you would get.

Deadline to sign    You usually have to accept or reject a severance offer within a certain period of time and if you’re over age 40, the ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) requires your employer to give you even more time to think it over.

Making a counteroffer    You can ask your employer for a better severance offer if you feel the original one was not appropriate but you may have technically rejected the first offer by doing so.  You run the risk of leaving the table empty-handed if your counteroffer is rejected.  Not every employer will retract the original offer but it is a possibility to consider.

Need more information?    If you are facing a severance situation at any stage in the process, contact the law firm of Henrichsen Siegel, P.L.L.C. for a consultation to help you with your career transition.