Severance Negotiations

A severance agreement isn’t just a final paycheck. It’s a contract. Most severance agreements ask the departing employee to give up a long list of rights, the right to sue the company, the right to talk publicly about what happened, the right to compete or recruit, the right to certain claims that haven’t even arisen yet. In exchange, the company offers money, benefits continuation, or other terms. The deal is real, and what gets signed is often what governs the next several years of the departing employee’s life.

The deadlines are usually short. The agreement is usually presented as final. The pressure is usually significant. Most employees sign without ever having someone review the document who is actually on their side.

For employees, severance is one of the few places where careful legal review reliably pays off. The questions are concrete: Is the severance amount in line with industry and tenure norms? Are the release terms reasonable, or do they extend further than they need to? Are the restrictive covenants, non-compete, non-solicit, non-disparagement, actually enforceable in Georgia, and what do they really prohibit? Is there anything to negotiate, and if so, how should it be approached? Are there claims being released that the employee didn’t know about? For senior employees and executives, severance often involves equity, bonuses, deferred compensation, and benefits questions that have major financial consequences if handled wrong. Victoria reviews and negotiates severance agreements with the practical perspective of someone who has structured them on the other side of the table.

For employers, a well-drafted severance is one of the cleanest off-ramps available, but only when it does what it’s supposed to do. That means valid releases, enforceable restrictive covenants, proper consideration, age-discrimination compliance for older employees, ERISA-compliant terms where benefits are involved, and language that doesn’t accidentally create more problems than it solves. Victoria drafts severance agreements for Georgia employers that hold up where it counts.