The Right Kind Of Severance Package

Many businesses provide severance pay or severance packages to management, executives and other employees upon job termination. Employees have the right to accept, negotiate or decline a severance package. If you have been offered severance, you may have questions you want answered before you make any decisions. At Mowery Youell & Galeano, Ltd., in Dublin, Ohio, our lawyers can help you review the severance package to determine the next steps best aligned with your goals and interests.

Negotiating Severance For Executives And High-Level Employees

Executive severance negotiation involves significantly more complex terms than standard employee packages, often including equity compensation, unvested stock options, deferred bonuses and retention of certain benefits. Severance packages for executives in Ohio frequently involve multimillion-dollar considerations that require sophisticated legal analysis to maximize value.

C-suite and senior-level professionals typically have more leverage to negotiate favorable terms due to their specialized knowledge and potential competition concerns. Executive packages may include several valuable components that standard employees rarely receive:

• Extended health care coverage and COBRA payment assistance
• Outplacement services and career transition support
• Accelerated vesting of retirement benefits and stock options
• Protection of earned but unpaid compensation and deferred bonuses
• Enhanced confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement terms

These comprehensive benefits require careful attention to help ensure fairness and protect long-term financial security and career prospects.

Executives often have more to negotiate and more to lose in severance discussions. Our attorneys understand the unique considerations facing senior professionals and work to secure favorable, future-proof agreements that protect executive interests.

Severance Agreements And Discrimination Or Retaliation Claims

Employers sometimes offer generous severance packages specifically to limit exposure to discrimination or retaliation claims that could result in costly litigation and negative publicity. Severance after discrimination situations requires careful legal analysis because accepting packages typically includes broad releases that waive claims under federal employment laws.

These strategic offerings often target employees in specific circumstances that suggest potential legal liability:

• Employees who witnessed misconduct or filed internal complaints
• Workers belonging to protected classes under Title VII or ADA
• Individuals who engaged in whistleblowing or reported safety violations
• Staff members who experienced sudden termination following protected activities

Companies may offer packages that seem generous but represent only a fraction of potential damages available through successful employment litigation.

Our attorneys help clients evaluate whether their termination circumstances suggest discriminatory motives that could support substantial legal claims exceeding severance offer values. If you suspect your layoff was tied to discrimination, retaliation or whistleblowing, do not sign anything until our attorneys review the situation, as you may be giving up significant rights.

Is My Employer Required To Give Me A Severance Package In Ohio?

No employer is obligated to provide severance pay unless they have signed a contract stating that they would. Typically, severance pay is offered to ease the loss of a job for an employee and to protect the employer from claims, and may even include a noncompete provision and more. Severance pay is more likely for long-term employees.

How Much Money Should I Get In My Severance Package?

Employers typically provide one or two weeks of pay for every year an employee worked. For example, if you were paid $5,000 a week and you worked for the company for 20 years, you might get $100,000 to $200,000 in severance pay. Keep in mind that a severance package may also include things like extended insurance benefits or even job placement assistance. The amount offered is negotiable.

What Rights Do I Give Up By Signing A Severance Agreement?

There is often a trade-off that comes with accepting a severance agreement. Your employer wants to protect itself. When a corporation offers severance, the contract typically includes a release of legal claims against the company, especially if the person receiving the package is over age 40. As part of our review, our lawyers can advise you about what other possible legal claims you may have, such as an age-based discrimination lawsuit, and your likelihood of making a recovery.

Your severance package may include a noncompete agreement that could severely limit your ability to find another job in the same area. Our lawyers will explain your obligations under the noncompete agreement. In some cases, these agreements can be negotiated so they do not unduly limit your ability to find work.

If I Already Signed A Severance Agreement, Can I Change My Mind?

If you have been offered a severance agreement, you have 21 days to decide whether to sign it. If you have already signed an agreement, you have seven days to revoke it.

What Can I Do If My Employer Did Not Provide The Pay Or Benefits Agreed To In The Severance Agreement?

A severance agreement is a contract. Like other contracts, if it is breached, the breaching party may be held accountable. If you have not received the severance pay or benefits agreed to, you may be able to pursue a claim to get what you were promised. Our attorneys can help to enforce the severance agreement.

Want To Know More About Severance Agreements?

For more information, call 614-467-4923 or send an email to meet with a trusted attorney. From our law office in Dublin, we represent executives, managers and other employees in reviewing, negotiating and enforcing severance agreements throughout the Columbus metro area and all of Ohio.