New York Severance Lawyers

Navigating a severance agreement requires careful consideration of complex legal terms and potential negotiation opportunities. As experienced New York employment lawyers, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to help you understand your rights and options when facing a separation from your employer.

We’ll cover the main aspects of severance negotiations, from payment schedules to benefit continuation, and highlight critical legal considerations that could affect your agreement, including arbitration clauses. Our New York employment law attorneys team has helped professionals get better severance terms through strategic negotiation and legal analysis.

Key Points to Consider When Reviewing A Severance Agreement

Here are the key elements you should carefully review in your severance package before signing.

1. What Is the Severance Pay Schedule?

Pay close attention to the payment schedule when reviewing your severance agreement. Many companies initially propose a payout window of 30-45 days after signing the agreement. However, there’s rarely any justification for such a lengthy delay—most employers can process payments within 10-15 days upon request.

Another common approach companies take is spreading payments out over time, which essentially keeps you on the payroll longer. While this might seem reasonable, a lump sum payment is almost always the better option because you get the full amount at once and there’s no potential for complications later. 

Remember that installment payments come with unnecessary risks. Company circumstances can change, administrative errors can occur, or other unforeseen issues might disrupt your scheduled payments. By negotiating for an early lump sum payment, you can avoid these potential complications and gain greater control over your financial future.

2. Are Outplacement Services Offered?

Your severance package may include outplacement services—professional support to help you transition to your next career opportunity. These programs typically provide valuable resources, such as resume optimization, career counseling, and interview coaching.

Outplacement services can be beneficial, think carefully about whether they will be useful to you. Many experienced professionals already have established networks and job-search strategies, so outplacement services are not necessary. In such cases, it’s worth negotiating to convert the value of these services into additional monetary compensation.

Consider your specific situation: If you’re confident in your job search abilities and have a clear career direction, requesting the cash equivalent of outplacement services could be more advantageous.

3. Are the Severance Payments Subject to a Mitigation Offset?

During your severance negotiation, carefully review whether your employment agreement includes a mitigation offset clause. This provision could require you to repay or reduce severance payments if you get a new job within a specific period of time.

Mitigation offset clauses can impact your legal rights and employee benefits, particularly if you find new work quickly after a wrongful termination. It is generally advisable to negotiate removal of any mitigation offset provisions from your employment contract. Most employers are receptive to this request because the main goal of a severance package is a clean break in the employment relationship. Companies usually want to avoid ongoing administrative obligations.

Are You Owed Any Money Independent of the Severance Package?

As you review the agreement, be sure to check for additional monies that may be owed to you, such as a pending bonus or expense reimbursement, that haven’t been paid out yet. These earned payments should be explicitly listed in your agreement to avoid future complications.

Document outstanding expenses, gather supporting evidence and receipts, and submit them to your employer promptly. This helps to clearly define the payment obligations and allows you to address any disputes before finalizing the agreement.

If there are outstanding, substantial expenses, our New York severance lawyers add the following clause to ensure the funds will be reimbursed:

Within 15 days of the Separation Date, the Company shall pay to the Executive any expense reimbursements due to the Executive as of the Separation Date pursuant to the applicable plan, program or practice of the Company.

Regarding bonuses, pay special attention to any accrued or promised payments. While some companies might try to withhold bonus payments during severance negotiations, remember that previously earned bonuses are separate from your severance package and should be paid according to your original employment terms.

How Is Earned Vacation or PTO handled?

Pay careful attention to how accrued vacation time or paid time off (PTO) is handled in your severance agreement because state laws and company policies can significantly impact your rights to compensation. In New York, it depends on your employer’s written policies. 

However, an important legal consideration arises when there’s a discrepancy between stated policies and actual practice. For example, if the employee handbook states that PTO is not accumulated, but your paystubs clearly show accumulation, you may have a strong claim for payout of these earned benefits under New York labor laws.

A special note regarding “unlimited PTO” policies: While they have become increasingly popular, they often create ambiguity in severance situations. Since no specific time is accrued, employers typically argue there’s nothing to pay out.

However, if the unlimited PTO policy was implemented to avoid paying out earned time, this could be challenged, especially if there’s evidence of typical usage patterns or informal tracking.

Overall, here are the key considerations for your PTO payout:

• Review your pay stubs for evidence of PTO accrual.
• Compare company policy against actual practice.
• Document any informal agreements or standard practices.
• Consider whether your unused PTO represents earned wages.

Do They Offer Benefits Continuation?

Continuing benefits after employment termination is a crucial component of your severance package. Your employer may offer direct benefits continuation, which is usually better than standard COBRA coverage.This could be where they continue to cover your health benefits at the same rate as when you were an employee for a specified amount of time, or they could offer to offset the cost of switching to COBRA, so you can continue to contribute the same amount prior to severance for a set period of time. 

As with other legal agreements, there could be issues in the details. Pay attention to the timing of benefits transition—there’s usually a gap between your last day of regular benefits coverage and when COBRA begins. Your severance agreement should clearly outline the timeline to ensure continuous coverage.

Don’t overlook additional perks and subscriptions. Company-provided benefits like professional memberships, training subscriptions, or tuition reimbursement programs might be negotiable for continuation.

If you’re currently enrolled in educational programs or professional development courses, ensure your agreement addresses these ongoing commitments and any related reimbursements.

Will You Receive a Job Reference?

What type of reference will the company provide for you? If they agree to a letter of reference, have the letter prepared and attach it to the agreement.

If a letter cannot or will not be prepared, set out the terms of the reference in the agreement using language like the following:

The Company agrees to supply a neutral reference letter that includes the Executive’s title, dates of employment, salary, and the reason for separation as resignation.

Many companies today are reluctant to provide anything more than a neutral job reference for exiting employees.

Our New York Severance Lawyers can Evaluate Potential Claims

When reviewing your severance offer, a New York City severance agreement attorney can identify potential claims that might strengthen your negotiating position with your former employer. Understanding these claims could significantly impact the terms of your separation agreement.

Age Discrimination and ADEA Claims

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) provides special protections for older workers. If you’re over 40, your severance agreement must meet specific requirements, including a mandatory review period. Our NYC severance lawyers carefully evaluate whether age discrimination played any role in your termination, which could substantially affect your negotiating leverage.

Non-Disparagement Provisions

While standard in most severance agreements, non-disparagement clauses require careful review. These provisions should be mutual, ensuring your former employer is equally restricted from making negative statements about you. Our attorneys ensure these clauses are fairly drafted and don’t overly restrict your future opportunities.

Discrimination Claims Review

Beyond age discrimination, we evaluate potential claims based on race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristics. Prior results show that identifying valid discrimination claims can enhance your severance package value.

Are Integration and Severability Clauses Included?

A severance agreement should contain an integration clause which states that the severance agreement is the one true agreement—there are no other agreements, whether verbal or written. However, the integration clause may include a carve-out for important side agreements, such as an agreement about the employee’s pension.

A severance agreement should also contain a severability clause. A severability clause states that if one portion of the severance agreement is deemed to be invalid, the rest of the agreement still stands.

10 Things to Negotiate for a Better Severance Package

Severance agreements are negotiable, and they should be treated as an offer that doesn’t have to be accepted as is.

Here are the top ten things our employment law firm suggests employees do when negotiating severance packages. 

In the video below, we’ll explain some reasons behind these tips and severance package negotiation strategy. 

1. Delay separation date
2. Negotiate payment terms
3. Collect unpaid expenses
4. Ask for more money
5. Extend health benefits
6. Avoid obligations to pay back the employer
7. Avoid obligations to seek new employment
8. Ask for no contest to unemployment claims
9. Ask for a job reference
10. Eliminate non-compete clause

What to Expect During a Consultation with New York Severance Lawyers

A consultation with a severance agreement lawyer is your chance to get legal advice about your rights and develop a strategic approach to your severance negotiation. 

Here’s what typically happens during these meetings:

• Document review: Your lawyer will examine your severance agreement, employment contract, and any relevant company policies.
• Situation assessment:
  • Discuss the circumstances that led to separation
  • Review of employment history and compensation
  • Evaluate potential legal claims or leverage points
• Strategic planning:
  • Identify negotiation opportunities
  • Discuss reasonable compensation expectations
  • Develop timeline and communication strategy
• Fee structure discussion: Clear explanation of legal fees, whether hourly or contingency-based, and estimated costs for representation
• Next steps: Outline of immediate actions and whether attorney representation would be beneficial in your specific situation.

Most attorneys offer initial consultations to assess your case and explain how they can help protect your interests during this critical transition period.

Contact a New York Severance Lawyer Today

Since 1999, Ottinger Employment Lawyers has helped executives get the best severance packages possible. Don’t navigate this complex negotiation alone—let our experienced team help you get fair benefits without unexpected restrictions.

Our process is straightforward: 

1. First, send us your severance agreement for initial review. 
2. We’ll then meet with you, either by phone or in person, to discuss terms and identify opportunities for improvement.
3. If beneficial, we’ll negotiate better terms on your behalf for a flat fee of $750.

Schedule your consultation today by calling our New York employment lawyers at (347) 391-8331 or contact us online.

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