No one works for the same employer for his or her entire career. Even if you are one of the lucky few who worked for only one employer during your lifetime, at some point, you will stop working for that employer. When an employee stops working for an employer for any reason-whether by termination, resignation, or retirement-often the employee has an opportunity to accept an offered severance agreement or to negotiate a severance agreement. In either case, severance packages can put money and benefits into the pockets of employees. We can help you maximize the value of your severance package.
Backstrom & Heinrichs takes pride in helping severed employees get the severance they deserve. You worked hard for your employer, and you should be recognized for what you accomplished. In addition, an employer often has an incentive to give you severance as a way to avoid potential litigation after you leave.
In some cases, the employer has promised severance in writing. In other cases, the employer may have made a verbal promise to give a severance package. In still other situations, the employer may not have made any written or verbal promise of severance but may still realize that offering severance makes sense under the circumstances. In any one of those situations, our aim is to get you the most valuable severance package available to you.
Often written promises of severance require a detailed analysis of the language in the severance provisions. In those cases, we look to see whether the promise is enforceable, under what circumstances it is enforceable, and how we can use the language of the severance promise to increase the size of the package.
Oral severance promises may or may not be enforceable, depending on the circumstances. We usually need to investigate those circumstances to see whether the promise was enforceable and what the value of that promise might be.
Of course, we can always make a demand for a severance package, even when none was originally offered. Again, we usually need to analyze the surrounding circumstances to see if it makes sense to demand a severance package.
Please send us an e-mail or give us a call with questions you may have about severance. We will review your situation to see if we can help. Once we accept your case, we will work hard to maximize the size of your severance package.
