The Rights You Can Exercise Before Signing A Severance Agreement

In the state of California, you have several rights that you can and should exercise before signing a severance agreement. By exercising every single one of these rights, you can obtain a favorable severance agreement.

Going over the rights you can exercise before signing a severance agreement and the value of exercising these rights while speaking with a California employment law attorney will help you obtain the best possible severance arrangement.

Right 01: The Right To Review Your Agreement

You always have the right to review a severance agreement in California before you sign it. This means that you have the ability to review any contract for at least five days before choosing to sign it.

For example, if you are asked to sign a severance agreement, you should not be pressured into signing it immediately. But you can take the time to review the agreement and, in doing so, choose whether or not to sign it.

Right 02: The Right To Voluntary Consideration

Every contract signed within the state of California is only valid when being signed voluntarily. This means that if you are forced to sign a contract under some form of duress, that contract cannot be considered legitimate.

A good example of the above is as follows: you are asked to sign a severance agreement that has unfavorable terms and told that, if you don’t, something bad will happen to you.

If something like the above occurs, you could make a strong argument that you did not voluntarily consent to signing that contract. And instead, you only signed it out of fear.

Right 03: The Right To Fair And Reasonable Terms

You have the right to fair and reasonable terms within your severance agreement. As a result of this, your agreement cannot contain things like a waiver of your worker’s compensation benefits, among other terms.

If you are asked to sign a severance agreement that violates your right to fair and reasonable terms, you should speak with an attorney who can help you. This is especially true if you are being pressured to sign the agreement.

On the other hand, if you sign a severance agreement that contains provisions violating your legal rights, it is unlikely that this agreement will hold up in court. You should also speak to an attorney if this happens to be the case.

Right 04: The Right To Legal Counsel

No matter the terms and conditions of your severance agreement, you have the right to work with legal counsel who can review this agreement.

If your legal counsel spots issues with this severance agreement, they can inform you of these issues. And you have the right to act based on this information.

Speak With A Northern California Employment Attorney Today

If you are about to sign a severance agreement but are unsure if this agreement is legally sound, you should talk to an attorney who can help you.

Speak with a Northern California employment lawyer at Maire & Deedon today, and we will help you exercise the rights that are always available to you.