Scottsdale Termination Agreements, Arizona Severance Agreement Lawyer, Phoenix, Arizona Empoymet Lawyer

The Law Office of

Joseph A. Velez

480.710.5079

Phoenix, Arizona Employment & Labor Law Attorney

Employment Severance Agreements

Employment separation agreements usually accompany layoffs and other types of employment termination in the U.S. Your employer might call yours a Termination Agreement, Severance Agreement, or Separation Agreement and General Release. Whatever your employer calls it, at first glance, it may look like an innocent letter on company stationary, buried around the mounds of paperwork that officiate termination. But it’s typically a “gotcha” that specifies the terms of your termination, to your employer’s advantage. It will likely ask you in so many words to just sit back and take it.

To encourage you to sign it, your employer might offer severance pay, extra severance pay or a better overall severance package. That’s typical for layoffs. Some terminated employees just take the money and run, without fully understanding exactly what it is they’ve signed and why their employers paid them to do so. But the fact of the matter is, an employment separation agreement is a contract in which you relinquish your legal rights, while the severance is effectively a bribe to influence you to sign it.

Joseph A. Velez has experience reviewing severance agreements and goes beyond traditional analysis of specific provisions of an agreement and performa thorough review of all the facts and circumstances related to your involuntary termination. This comprehensive process helps us see the bigger picture that often times is more complicated than merely language written in the Agreement. We will ask questions and request your help in providing facts and any materials related to your employment and termination. We can offer our best recommendations only when equipped with knowledge of the facts surrounding your case.

The signage of a severance agreement releases or prevents you from suing your employer for any claims against then that you have, so it is essential to first determine whether legitimate claims exist. Upon the signing of a Release, you will not be able to assert claims against the company at any point in the future.

We frequently learn, during the initial consultation, that circumstances surrounding the person’s termination could involve discrimination of some sort, such as racial discrimination or unfair treatment based on religious beliefs of the employee being terminated or those of this person’s supervisor.

Attorney Velez carefully evaluates the circumstances surrounding a severance agreement through active listening, precise inquiry, and investigative research and review. At this point, meaningful and knowledgeable guidance can be offered, but not before these crucial steps are taken. It is with that knowledge that we proceed to review and analyze your severance agreement, on its own.

The severance agreement conditions provide for benefits and impose specific obligations that cold prove to be significant and should be examined by an attorney who has experience with such agreements. We possess that experience since we have been reviewing and successfully negotiating Severance Agreements for years. As an experienced employment attorney, Joseph Velez, protects clients’ interests by identifying and making changes to the employment severance when possible. We do our best to work, into the agreements as many modifications as possible to further the interests of our clients. We will also highlight provisions in your agreement that must be weighed carefully by you before signing the agreements.

Many times agreements will suggest that you seek the advice of a lawyer and we wholeheartedly agree. Do not go at it alone. Frequently, part or all of an agreement is subject too a deadline by which point the agreement must be signed, so do not put off discussions with a lawyer about your severance agreement.

Important Warnings

If your employment separation agreement includes a non-compete clause , you might think twice about signing that too, as it limits the work you may seek at a time when you need work most. That’s a big gotcha. It’s enforceable in many states, unless it’s to restrictive in while or part. Still, your employer might try to get you to sign the unenforceable anyway, as an intimidation tactic. It happens.

The same goes if your employment separation agreement includes a confidentiality or no-disclosure clause, asking you to agree that you till not disclose or profit from company trade secrets, customer lists, and so on. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that you shouldn’t disclose pr profit from company trade secrets, stolen customer lists, etc. But a non-disclosure clause might limit you in many other ways, too. To be enforceable, a non-disclosure clause must legitimately protect the company’s business interests. But again,your employer might try to get you to sign the unenforceable anyway. It’s not unheard of for a company to try to protect that which it has no right to protect, such as common industry knowledge.

DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.

Our law office represents clients throughout the Phoenix, Arizona area including the cities of Scottsdale, Maricopa, Mesa, Surprise, Paradise Valley, Avondale, Gilbert, Chandler, Glendale, Florence, New River, Fountain Hills, Peoria, Surprise, Queen Creek, Tempe, Sun City, Apache Junction, and Casa Grande. We serve the counties of Maricopa, Yavapai, Gila, Pinal, La Paz, Yuma, and Pima County.

Q. Is there a law that requires employers to provide severance pay?

Q. My employer offered a severance agreement to me, but I have to agree not to sue my employer in order to receive any severance benefits. Can they do that?

Q. What happens to the waiting period if i ask my employer for a better package?

Q. I am inclined to accept the severance package, but I do not know what, if anything, my rights are worth that I will be giving up. What should I do?

Q. Are there any “rules of thumb” for how much severance an employer will pay?

Please contact The Law Office of Joseph A. Velez with any severance agreement questions.