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Employees are typically offered severance when they are terminated or laid off. Despite the actual reason for your termination, severance agreements often times state that an employee resigned.
You may think that this is favorable to you for future employment to have your termination marked as a resignation, but it may actually prevent you from receiving unemployment benefits. Therefore, if your severance agreement states that you resigned, when if fact you did not, you should ask that your employer either: (1) agree not to contest your unemployment or (2) have that language removed and agree to inform future prospective employers that you resigned. Keep in mind that most severance agreements are confidential and you will not be able to show it to a future employer.
January 20, 2011 – Castronovo & McKinney, LLC – Tom McKinney