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That is not true in most states. While the State controls the determination about whether the employee is eligible to receive the benefits (and when the employee is eligible), the state relies on the terms of the severance agreement to determine the eligibility. Those terms can make a difference, and in states where the terms can make a difference, the terms should be negotiated to protect the employee. These are very technical legal issues that are not likely to be able to be handled correctly without an experienced employment lawyer drafting the language.
Agreed, I have seen severance agreements where people waive plenty of rights for what amounts to a few weeks of salary, spending a few hundred on a lawyer is a wise move if you are talking about losing the right to sue for mistreatment or losing the option for unemployment.
Firstly, you should take them directly, every company has HR whom you ask everything related to your company rules and policy, ask him about your salary. If he doesn't clear your confusion is going to higher authority some time they do not know what is happening at the lower level will definitely solve your problem if there you are not satisfied only then go for employment lawyer who solve your problem in a better way.
Well, if that's the case, I'm sure that's what an attorney would tell the OP.
But, just as an example: A disabled person does not have to use the term "reasonable accommodation" in order to be required to get one. This employer knew this employee had a disability and likely had a duty to deal with him/her as a disabled individual.
If not, fine. But, a lawyer who specializes in employment law is what's needed here.
What if the only job available is cleaning toilets at minimum wage after hours??
The OP would lose the fight or most likely either getting less after fees or about the same. There's no law that governs severance, it is given as a honor for your years of service. If you sued, your future employment with other firms that research your background will turn down your employment due to past litigation.
Just wanted to update on how this all turned out. The first attorney who said he would look over my separation agreement ghosted me. So I reached out to another attorney I used to work with at the company I just got fired from (he no longer works there). He read the agreement and advised that I go back to them and ask for health benefits through the end of August and also for the severance amount to be pro-rated based on my salary in New York for the time that I worked there. He said that they typically don't budge on these agreements but that if I don't ask, they won't give it to me. So I went in and talked to my HR rep about it. She said no to the health benefits question right away. But she saw where I was coming from in regards to salary so she said she would ask. She called her boss and came back and said that they want to help and will talk to New York and get back to me with an answer hopefully by Monday.
Finally a resolution! My former employer updated my separation agreement to include a lump sum payment in addition to what they offered initially. I didn't do the math so I don't know how much less the lump sum is than what the NYC salary based severance payments would have amounted to but the advantage is that I'm getting it right away instead of over time. I've heard that they almost never budge on separation agreements so I'm happy with the outcome. Thanks for all of the advice and input.
Yes, get an attorney. Employment attorneys are definitely helpful and worth the money, in my opinion. And they only take a percentage of what they get for you, normally - on contingency. So, no money out of pocket up front. Talk to your owner once again about your payment and if they agree with you then its ok otherwise it's not bad to hire an attorney to get the justice you deserve.
I got fired today and my therapist suggested I hire a lawyer to help me negotiate my separation agreement. I'm getting 2 weeks severance for every year I worked there, medical until the end of this month and 2 months of employer subsidized Cobra after that. I worked in NYC for the majority of my time at the company and had a higher salary. However my severance was based entirely on my current, lower salary. I'm also on some medication that I won't be able to afford after my severance runs out so I'd like to negotiate a couple more months of medical coverage. Is it worth hiring an employment lawyer? How do I even find one? How much would something like this cost? Should I just try to negotiate on my own and let the chips fall where they may?
Just curious, did you work at a Publication?
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