Severance Negotiation and Separation Agreement
Are you looking for assistance regarding a severance negotiation or separation agreement? Call us at (216) 815-9500 or submit this form and one of our attorneys will contact you for a free consultation.
NOTE: The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.
Most employment relationships in Ohio are not governed by a written agreement and, therefore, are “at-will.” At-will employment means that either the employer or the employee may end the employment relationship at any time, so long as other laws (such as those forbidding gender and race discrimination) are not violated.
The terms “separation” and “severance” agreement are used interchangeably. While severance agreements are not required when an employee is terminated, such agreements often are proposed when an employer wants an employee to agree to certain conduct even after the employee no longer works there, in exchange for a payment from the employer. Some common topics in severance agreements are:
Employee’s release or waiver of his right to sue his former employer.
Non-disparagement provision, which means that neither the employee or employer may spread negative information about the other.
Non-competition provision, which prohibits an employee from working for a competitor of the employer for a certain period of time and within a certain geographic area. There are limits on the duration and size of these restrictions.
Confidentiality provision, which requires that the parties keep all or most details of the severance agreement confidential.
Please reach out to CRK if you have been terminated and want your proposed severance/separation agreement reviewed. As most of these agreements require fairly quick turn-around times, do not delay.