Los Angeles Employment Contract & Severance Lawyer

It depends on your age and on how many people were let go with you. If you are 40 or older and the agreement asks you to give up an age discrimination claim, federal law gives you at least 21 days to consider it. That rises to at least 45 days when the offer is part of a group termination program, and federal regulations treat an offer as part of a program once two or more employees are asked to sign. You also get 7 days after signing to change your mind, and that revocation period cannot be shortened or waived. If the employer changes a material term, the clock starts over. California adds its own rule for releases of harassment or discrimination claims, giving you at least 5 business days to consult a lawyer under Government Code section 12964.5.

That is the disclosure the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires, and it may be the most useful document in your packet. When a release is part of a group termination program, your employer has to tell you which group it selected from, the criteria it used, the time limits that apply, and the job titles and ages of everyone it chose and everyone it did not. Read it closely. The pattern in those numbers is sometimes the clearest indication of whether age played a part in who was cut, and a disclosure that is missing or wrong can undermine the age waiver you were asked to sign.

No. Wages you already earned are yours, and Labor Code section 206.5 makes a release of them void unless they have actually been paid. When you are laid off, Labor Code section 201 requires your final wages immediately. Severance is a separate thing. It is money offered in exchange for giving up claims, so an employer cannot repackage the pay you already worked for as the consideration for a release.

Not necessarily. If the agreement did not meet the federal requirements, it does not validly waive an age discrimination claim, and the United States Supreme Court held in Oubre v. Entergy Operations that you do not have to return the money before bringing one. A defective age waiver does not automatically undo the rest of the agreement, so what remains open depends on the document and on the facts. Having someone read it costs nothing.

No. Justin represents workers anywhere in California. These pages speak to Los Angeles because that is where the office is, but where in the state you work does not decide whether he can take your case.

Usually not. Employers often make arbitration a condition of employment and those agreements are frequently enforceable, though not always. Arbitration changes where your case is heard, not whether you have a case, and certain representative claims for Labor Code penalties cannot be waived.

The consultation is free, and these cases are handled on a contingency basis. There is no fee unless we win, and if there is no recovery you owe no costs either.

The consultation is confidential. Talking through what happened does not put your employer on notice, and nothing is filed because you called.