Is My Severance Package Negotiable?

By Thomas McKinney
Partner

Your employer will push you to accept the severance package offered by the Company immediately without making any revisions, changes or including additional items that you could receive.  We recommend that you do NOT sign a severance agreement until you have had the time to think about your decision and discuss it with an employment lawyer.  You should tell your employer that you need time to think. Most severance agreements include provisions which require waiver of certain claims.  If you are waiving the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and/or the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act require that you have at least 21 days to consider the severance agreement and 7 days to revoke the agreement after singing it.  Accordingly, your employer cannot withdraw the severance offer.  This will allow you the time to meet with an employment attorney or conduct research on your own regarding some additional items that you may be able to negotiate with the employer to include in your severance agreement.  Our firm has successfully negotiated increases in the amount of severance and various other items that were important to our clients.  Please contact us if you received a severance package.

Dated: April 15, 2010 – Castronovo & McKinney – Tom McKinney – Severance Lawyers

About the Author
Tom McKinney is an experienced NJ Employment Lawyer in all major areas of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, overtime violations, wage and hour claims, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, LAD, FLSA, and all other employment law claims. Tom is admitted to practice in the States of New Jersey and New York, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, District of New Jersey, and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to forming the firm, Tom practiced at Gibbons P.C. in Newark, NJ. If you have any questions regarding this article, contact Tom here today.