Yesterday, Target announced the layoff of 140 more employees. Similarly, companies routinely lay off employees and provide them with severance agreements.
Questions arise about layoffs and whether to sign severance agreements. Bertelson Law Offices routinely consults with terminated employees.
Bertelson Law Offices, P.A. has over 35 years of combined experience reviewing, evaluating and strategically negotiating severance agreements, separation agreements, buy-out packages, executive agreements and non-compete agreements.
If you’re terminated or laid off and given a separation agreement, give us a call. Because we practice exclusively in the area of employment law, we are able to provide you with knowledgeable and caring experience, as well as personal service for your individual needs and goals. We offer a thorough review to help you determine how your particular situation would be impacted by signing, or if it would be appropriate to move forward with legal claims or with negotiating changes to the agreement, such as increasing the amount the employer is offering and language changes to the agreement.
Being terminated or laid off is traumatic. If you are offered a separation agreement don’t sign it at the meeting. Take your time. Read it carefully. Consult with an attorney. In most instances, you have at least 21 days to decide if you want to sign it. (The Agreement will set forth the time period you have in which to sign it)
When you sign these agreements, you are giving up your right to pursue legal action against your employer in exchange for the money the employer is offering you. The agreement often imposes obligations on you.
An attorney can help you figure out whether it makes sense to pursue additional benefits or give up your right to pursue legal action against your employer in exchange for the money offered in the agreement.
There are many things to consider, such as:
- Do I have legal claims against my employer?
- If I sign, will I be subject to a non-compete or other types of restrictions?
- If I sign, will I have any ongoing obligations to the employer?
- Will the employer pay me for outstanding business expenses?
- Will I receive payment for unused Paid Time Off (PTO)?
- If I sign the agreement, can I still get long-term disability benefits?
- Can I get unemployment compensation benefits?
- If I find a new job, will I have to give the money back to the employer?
