Your rights at work, and what you sign on the way out
Is this you?
You have been handed terms to sign, or you sense a reorganization coming. Your free Market Reality Assessment shows your options while you still have time to choose, privately.
By Justin KullaLast updated
Signs this is you
- You were offered a severance, exit or transfer agreement and are not sure what it stops you from saying or doing.
- Your contract has a noncompete or non-disparagement clause and you are thinking about a move.
- A new policy (return to office, a performance plan, a reorganization) is changing what you signed up for.
In the news
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In your favor
Terms are often negotiable before you sign
Employers that want a clean exit usually have room on the amount, the length of a restriction and how broad a clause is. Asking costs little before you sign and a lot after.
Some limits are set by law, not by the contract
Rules on what an agreement can stop you reporting, and on which restrictions a court will enforce, differ by role and by state, and managers usually have fewer protections than rank-and-file staff. Read the clause against your own state and role.
Watch for
Broad non-disparagement language
A clause that bars any negative statement can reach what you say to future employers, recruiters and reviewers, and it may carry repayment of your severance if broken.
Signing deadlines
A short deadline is a negotiating tactic. Ask for the full time you are entitled to, and use it to see what else is on offer elsewhere.
Go deeper
- How severance works
- Should I take the buyout?
- Unemployment benefits by state
- Layoff tracker: WARN notices by employer
Other journeys: Benefits that matter, Pay and cost of living, Side hustles and second incomes