Why You Should Hire a Lawyer to Negotiate Your Severance in California

Hiring an experienced employment lawyer to negotiate your severance can protect your rights and maximize what you receive.

What are Severance Agreements?

A severance agreement is a legal contract between an employer and an employee that outlines the terms of the employee’s departure from the company. It often provides compensation, such as a lump-sum payment, continued health benefits, or other support, in exchange for the employee agreeing not to sue the employer for issues like wrongful termination, discrimination, or unpaid wages. 

Severance agreements usually include clauses about confidentiality, non-disparagement, and sometimes non-compete restrictions. Once signed, the agreement is legally binding, meaning the employee gives up certain rights in return for the benefits offered. 

When Hiring a Lawyer Makes Sense

You should strongly consider hiring a lawyer experienced with severance agreements if:

• The severance agreement includes confusing or aggressive legal language.
• You believe you were wrongfully terminated, discriminated against, or retaliated against.
• You held a high-level position or had access to sensitive company information.
• The severance package seems unusually small or unfair.
• You have been asked to sign a non-compete, non-solicitation, or confidentiality agreement.
• You want to negotiate terms but feel uncertain how to proceed.

In California, state and federal laws regulate some aspects of severance agreements. Still, employers often draft terms that heavily favor them. Without legal advice, you risk agreeing to unfair conditions or giving up important rights.

How a Lawyer Can Help

A lawyer can review your severance agreement, explain your rights, identify hidden risks, and suggest edits. Beyond review, a lawyer can negotiate better terms. They may secure a higher severance payment, longer benefits coverage, neutral reference language, or limit restrictive clauses like non-compete agreements. Skilled negotiation often leads to significantly better offers than employees achieve on their own.

Potential Legal Claims Related to Severance

Several legal claims can arise in connection with severance agreements. Here are the most common:

• Breach of Contract: If you had an employment contract or a promise of certain severance terms and the employer did not honor it, you could claim breach of contract.
• Wrongful Termination: If you were fired for illegal reasons, such as discrimination, retaliation, or whistleblowing, you may have a claim even after a severance offer.
• Discrimination: If your termination involved bias based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, or other protected categories, you could pursue a discrimination claim.
• Retaliation: If you were fired after reporting misconduct, harassment, safety violations, or wage issues, you may have a legal retaliation claim.
• Wage and Hour Violations: You may have claims if your employer failed to pay final wages, bonuses, commissions, or accrued vacation time properly under California law.

What is the Cost of Hiring an Employment Lawyer to Negotiate Severance?

Many employment lawyers in California offer flat fees for severance reviews or work on an hourly basis. In many cases, the additional compensation or protections gained through skilled negotiation outweigh the legal fees involved.

Some lawyers also work on a contingency basis if you also have a legal claim against your employer. This means you do not have to pay any upfront fees and will only owe your attorney if you win. 

Before hiring an employment lawyer, you can often schedule a free consultation to discuss your situation and get a clear sense of the cost.