Discrimination / Harassment

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If your employer ends your employment agreement with little notice, they will likely offer you a severance package. At their core, severance agreements are monetary packages employers provide in exchange for the employee agreeing to waive certain rights or consent to certain restrictions.

While a severance agreement can sound like a fair deal at first, working with an experienced legal team is essential to ensure you get a severance package that is in your best interests. In many cases, employers will use severance agreements to protect themselves from legal action, which can be harmful to you.

Because many employees are suddenly faced with termination, a quickly offered severance agreement may seem tempting. However, before you agree to the terms of a severance package, you should consult a knowledgeable lawyer to review it to ensure the offer is in your best interests.

If you have been offered a severance package, you have the right to work with a legal team during negotiations to ensure you are getting a fair deal. Our team can work on your behalf to negotiate with your employer and adjust the terms of your severance package to ensure you have all of your legal rights. If you need assistance, do not hesitate to reach out today. Call our office at 314-528-9661.

What is the Purpose of a Severance Package?

Employers often offer a severance package when employees are terminated from a job. Many employees assume this is to soften the blow of their newfound unemployment, but severance agreements are made to protect employers. Many employers fear that workers who are let go will file wrongful termination or other potential legal claims against them.

Employers typically use severance packages to demand certain concessions from employees, including the following:

• Non-disclosure: The employee cannot disclose confidential information or trade secrets they learned about the employer
• Non-competition: The employee is prohibited from working with companies that compete with their former employer
• Non-solicitation of employees: The employee is not permitted to hire their former colleagues at their new job
• Non-solicitation of clients: The employee is prohibited from retaining their former clients
• Elimination of legal actions: The employee must retract an existing lawsuit or waive future lawsuits against the employer

Not all these concessions will be added to every severance agreement, but many are included in standard packages. Understanding the legal implications of these agreements before signing away your rights is essential. Employees signing severance packages without assistance from a legal team could find themselves in a legal bind.

As with any other legal issue, it is always best to allow a qualified employment law attorney to perform a severance package review to ensure you are treated fairly. Depending on the circumstances in your case, we can negotiate a better severance package that meets your needs rather than your employer’s.

Please contact our Missouri legal team today to learn more about severance agreements and whether you have been offered a fair settlement.

How Do You Calculate an Appropriate Severance Package?

Along with certain legal stipulations, severance packages can also include a corresponding sum the employer offers the employee. Although there is no typical severance package, the total sum presented by your employer may vary depending on the nature of your job and your previous salary.

Many employees mistakenly believe that they must accept their employers’ first offer. Although the final severance package offered to a terminated employee is up to the employer, this sum is almost always negotiable under Missouri employment law.

Our highly experienced legal team can help you negotiate your severance package terms in exchange for more significant severance benefits.

If you are unsure how much your severance package sum should be, consider the following factors:

• Timeline of restricted conduct: The longer the timeframe for restrictions, the higher the sum should be
• Scope of restricted behavior: The broader the range of restrictions is, the higher the sum should be
• Difficulty finding future employment: The higher the difficulty of finding future employment, the higher the sum should be

Generally, the more restrictive the severance package is, the higher the sum can be. It should also be noted that a severance agreement is subject to tax, regardless of the final total. Furthermore, any compensation you may receive due to unused sick leave or vacation time is also subject to tax laws. An experienced severance agreement attorney can explain all the legal ramifications of calculating agreements and how they will impact your well-being.

If you are being offered a severance package, ensuring that the terms are fair is essential. Riggan Law Firm can help you negotiate with your employer to help you receive the payment you deserve.

What Terms Within a Severance Package Are Negotiable?

Although many employers may try to pressure employees into signing agreements right away, you always have the right to negotiate the terms under Missouri employment law. With the help of our dedicated legal team, you can ask your employer to extend healthcare coverage for you and your family until you find other employment. You can also ask for more severance pay and request it be paid as a lump sum instead of in installments.

Similarly, any non-compete, non-solicitation, or other clauses are often open for negotiation and may include:

• Non-compete agreements: An employer may try to include a non-compete agreement in a severance package to limit your ability to start a new business competing with theirs or prevent you from working for competitors. In most cases, the terms of the non-compete agreement specify how long the arrangement should be enforced.
• Non-solicitation clause: A non-solicitation clause works to prevent a former employee from trying to solicit business from their former employer’s customers or former co-workers.
• Non-disparagement clause: In general terms, a non-disparagement provision prevents both the employer and the employee from making negative comments about one another.
• Release of claims: Most employers will demand that employees sign a release of claims before approving a severance package. A release of claims prevents former employees from filing employment-based lawsuits after being terminated.

When you come to us for help, we will carefully review the severance offered and other legal matters that may inhibit your ability to earn a living.

If any of these clauses would make it difficult for you to find further employment, our team can assist you with negotiations to ensure you can find a new job quickly and easily. A mutually beneficial severance agreement helps avoid conflicts, which is better for you and your employer. Contact our law office today to meet with one of our employment lawyers, who will gladly review your severance terms.

What Benefits Should I Request in a Severance Agreement?

Although many employment contracts specify what employees will receive in severance packages, Missouri law still allows them to be negotiated. Employees who wish to negotiate their severance packages should never try to handle them independently. Instead, seeking legal counsel from an experienced employment lawyer who can help you with severance negotiation is always wise.

Some of the most essential benefits that employees should request in a severance package include:

• Severance pay: One of the most important benefits that should be included in a severance package is severance pay. Generally, the standard payment is calculated as the equivalent of two weeks’ pay for every year an employee worked for the business. However, if you are paid in a large lump sum payment, you will be responsible for paying tax on this income.
• Paid time off: Along with severance pay, you should be compensated for any unused paid time off, including vacation or sick days.
• Health insurance: Many employees depend on employer-sponsored health insurance to cover medical costs for themselves and their families. However, many terminated employees are unable to afford the costly Cobra premiums. Therefore, a well-crafted severance package should include payment or reimbursement of Cobra premiums until you can find another job.
• Outplacement services: You may request that your employer agree to pay for outplacement services that will provide training or help you find another job.
• Stock options: If you have stock options in the company, a fair severance agreement should include how you can keep or sell stock. Additionally, with restricted stock units, you may wish to request an accelerated vesting period so that you can maintain control or obtain equity from your stock.

How much severance you can obtain will depend on your unique circumstances. At Riggan Law Firm, our employment attorneys have comprehensive experience helping clients obtain settlement agreements that will provide them with the benefits they need while they seek other employment.

Can an Employer Hold Your Last Paycheck?

In Missouri, it is illegal for employers to hold your last paycheck. Terminated employees should receive their final paycheck on the next regularly scheduled payday after dismissal. Employers must issue a final paycheck containing compensation for all earned wages, no matter the cause of termination.

However, you can formally request payment if your employer does not provide your final paycheck in time. According to Missouri labor laws, if you do not receive your last paycheck within seven days of your request, your employer could face a stiff penalty and be made to pay the same pay rate for up to 60 days or until the final paycheck is issued. If the employer fails to pay you, you also have the right to file a lawsuit against them.

However, state laws regarding when final paychecks should be issued do not apply to employees who work on commission.

If your employer is holding your final paycheck or threatening to withhold wages from you, please contact our team immediately for legal guidance.

How Can a Severance Agreement Attorney Help Me?

You may feel uncertain about your future if you have been subject to a mass layoff or an individual termination. In today’s unstable economy, you may feel as though you need to take your employer’s first severance offer.

Employers often offer lump sum payments to make severance agreements more enticing. Although the lump sum in a severance agreement might sound like a great deal, signing an agreement without an attorney present can severely limit your ability to find employment in the future. Many companies pressure their employees to sign restrictive agreements that waive their legal rights. However, you have the right to consult a legal team before signing any severance agreement to ensure it is in your best interests.

Some of the most significant advantages of hiring a severance agreement attorney include:

• Providing clients with a severance package review to help you obtain maximum benefits, including outplacement services, extension of healthcare benefits, and a possible lump sum payout
• Negotiating legal clauses such as non-compete agreements to ensure they do not create conditions that make it challenging for you to find new employment
• Ensure that any severance agreement you accept is in your best interest and not that of your employer

Our law firm recognizes that facing termination can be upsetting as you consider what you have to do to start the next chapter of your life. However, you should never try to negotiate a severance agreement with your employer without legal representation.

Riggan Law Firm has a proven track record of negotiating severance agreements to ensure clients have the financial stability they need after termination. Contact our Missouri law office today to learn more about the advantages of hiring legal counsel and how we can help.

Why Can I Trust Riggan Law Firm to Help Me With Severance Negotiations?

Severance agreements can be challenging to try and negotiate without having an experienced employment lawyer on your side. It is crucial to remember that when your former employer presents you with a severance package, they will not look out for your best interests but their own.

Our team at Riggan Law Firm can help if you have been presented with a severance agreement. We will review the agreement carefully and make recommendations based on your financial needs. If the agreement is not up to your standards, we can meet with your employer to negotiate the terms and conditions so they are right for you.

The employment lawyers of our Missouri law firm have a proven record of representing employees and obtaining fair severance packages on their behalf. Our attorneys have over 30 years of collective experience ensuring that severance policies do not violate state and federal employment law and provide necessary financial benefits to clients as they transition to new careers.

When you come to us for help, we will carefully evaluate any severance agreement offer presented to you. We will act as your legal advocate with your employer as we work through the complex negotiation process.

You should never trust an inexperienced employment lawyer to negotiate your severance package. Unfortunately, many employment lawyers lack the skills and experience to obtain positive client results.

Instead, it is always best to seek legal advice from an employment lawyer who has proven experience and will fight to protect your legal rights.

If you want to learn more about our services and how we can help you, please call Riggan Law Firm at our Missouri office at 314-528-9661 to schedule a consultation to discuss your legal needs.