The questions people actually ask

No. For a separation agreement, California Government Code 12964.5(b)(4) requires at least five business days to consider it and notice of your right to consult an attorney. If you are 40 or over and the agreement releases age discrimination claims, federal law requires 21 days, or 45 days in a group termination program, plus 7 days to revoke after signing. A deadline printed on a document is a business preference, not a legal maximum. The five-day rule does not apply to a negotiated settlement of a claim you already filed in court, with an agency, in arbitration or through the employer's internal complaint process.

If you are 40 or over and the agreement releases age claims, you have 7 days after signing to revoke, and that right cannot be waived. Signing does not waive everything. Some rights cannot be waived at all, including filing a charge with a government agency. Either way, get a complete copy of what you signed. It is the only reliable record of what you agreed to.

Federal rules require written information with a group release of age claims: the group covered (the decisional unit), the eligibility factors and time limits, and the job titles and ages of people selected and not selected in that group. You also get 45 days to consider it and 7 days to revoke after signing. The information lets you see the pattern. It does not by itself decide whether the waiver is valid.

The base severance formula usually is. Almost everything else is discretionary. Many employers have some way to ask questions about or request changes to the terms. People commonly ask who a short written request should go to, and by when.

Withdrawing an offer because a worker used a statutory review period would be legally risky for an employer. Asking a polite, specific question in writing is normal. Since 64 percent of organizations require a signed release in exchange for severance, the employer wants your signature, which gives you leverage.

If you were laid off or fired, your final wages are "due and payable immediately" under Labor Code 201(a). If final pay is late, Labor Code 203 provides a waiting time penalty of your wages continuing at the same daily rate, capped at 30 days. You claim it through the Labor Commissioner.

Yes. Under Labor Code 227.3, vested vacation is paid as wages at your final rate, and a policy cannot provide for forfeiture of vested vacation on termination.

Not for wages already owed. Labor Code 206.5 bars requiring a release of wage claims unless those wages have been paid, and the Labor Commissioner says undisputed wages must be paid without a release. Money offered beyond what you are owed, like severance, can be conditioned on a release. A genuine dispute over wages can be settled.

Generally no. Labor Code 2802 requires reimbursement of necessary work expenses, and Labor Code 2804 makes any waiver of that right void. The California Supreme Court read a release of "any and all" claims as not covering protections like this in Edwards v. Arthur Andersen (2008).

Generally no. Under EDD guidance, severance paid under a company plan to a class or group of employees is not treated as wages for California unemployment purposes, following the California Supreme Court’s 1965 Powell decision. Vacation paid out when the job ends also does not reduce weekly benefits if you have no return-to-work date (Unemployment Insurance Code 1265.5). Pay in lieu of notice must be reported, and its treatment depends on the facts. Report everything and let EDD apply the rules.

Not automatically. Under Labor Code 1402, back pay owed for missing notice is reduced by wages paid during the notice period and by payments that are voluntary and unconditional. A severance payment that requires you to sign a release may not be unconditional. Whether Cal-WARN applies depends on the size of the layoff and the site, so this is a question for a lawyer or the Labor Commissioner.

Severance is a supplemental wage. Employers commonly use a flat 22 percent federal rate, plus 6.6 percent California withholding, plus Social Security and Medicare, because severance is wages for FICA under United States v. Quality Stores (2014). Withholding is a prepayment, not your actual tax. A job-loss year is often a lower-income year, so you may get a refund.

Price it first. COBRA costs up to 102 percent of the full plan cost. Covered California subsidies are based on your current income, which just dropped. For many people a comparable marketplace plan costs substantially less. You generally have 60 days for both.

Send one written request using Labor Code 432 for anything you signed, Labor Code 226(b) for payroll records, which they must provide within 21 calendar days, and Labor Code 1198.5 for your personnel file, within 30 calendar days. The last two carry $750 penalties. There is a ready-to-send letter in the tools section.

Check it yourself. Compare page counts, compare word counts, and run a comparison in Word. Then ask in writing for a redline or a list of changes before signing. A replacement document that is longer than the one you approved is not a formatting change.

Your own employment records are yours. Company confidential material is not. Do not start forwarding company documents to personal email. It can breach your agreements and create trade secret exposure, and California gives you lawful routes to your records with penalties attached.

Not secretly. California is an all-party consent state, and recording a confidential communication without everyone’s consent is a crime under Penal Code 632. Take contemporaneous notes instead, and send a short confirming email afterward.

Not in California. Business and Professions Code 16600 voids employment non-competes "no matter how narrowly tailored," and 16600.5 makes them unenforceable regardless of where they were signed, bars employers from attempting to enforce them, and awards attorney’s fees to a prevailing employee. Employers were required to send individualized notice of this by February 14, 2024. Note that trade secret obligations are different and do survive.

No. Government Code 12964.5(b)(1)(B) requires the agreement to include language stating that nothing prevents you from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace. The employer may keep the settlement amount confidential.

Generally no, though the rules come from different places. Federal rules and EEOC guidance say a release cannot stop you filing an EEOC charge or taking part in an EEOC investigation. SEC Rule 21F-17 bars anyone from impeding you from contacting the SEC. California Civil Code 1670.11 voids terms that waive your right to testify about alleged criminal conduct or sexual harassment when a court, agency or the Legislature requires or requests it. A well-drafted agreement says what you can still do. One that does not is worth asking a lawyer about.

It is the clause saying you give up claims you do not know about. California law requires an explicit waiver to release unknown claims, which is why that paragraph appears in capital letters. It is the single broadest sentence in most agreements, and it is why knowing what claims you might have matters before you sign, not after.

Three rules for separation agreements. One: the employer sends the complete signed agreement within five business days after everyone signs, without a request. Two: in a format you can open, save and print without the employer’s systems, or on paper if you ask. Three: if the agreement changes after it is first provided, every change is identified in writing before you sign.

Compliance is one email with one attached file. A complete signed copy, delivered with the signing record, is also the employer’s best evidence if a signature is ever questioned, as the 2024 Garcia v. Stoneledge Furniture decision shows. The draft includes a seven-day cure period and no PAGA exposure, and a violation does not invalidate the agreement.

Because 432 requires a request, says nothing about format, and has no penalty. A worker who does not know to ask gets nothing, and a worker who asks after losing access may get a file they cannot open.

No. Every example on this site is a fictional story, and the site does not name or accuse any company. The problem is structural, and naming a company turns a policy argument into a dispute about one employer. Submitted stories are anonymized and any company names are removed.

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