Hi Reader,

In light of the recent mass layoffs that have hit many notable companies, we hosted a live Q&A this week on negotiating severance agreements.

We also brought on our friend, Alex Daniels, to share his legal POV. Alex is a corporate attorney, a former Google employee, and cofounder of a boutique law firm that works with startups and professionals.

A lot of people couldn't make the session and asked us for the recording, but to respect attendees’ privacy and to encourage open and candid conversation, we aren't sending it around.

However, we're sharing below some of the most useful things that came out of the session:

Quick note: this is a sponsored newsletter, and we're excited to share this one because we actually use Lovable ourselves. We built our own website, www.YourNegotiations.com, with it, and it's genuinely one of the easiest and most important tools we use for our business. If you check them out below, it means a lot to us and helps keep our newsletter going.

1. Your state law matters more than where your employer is headquartered

The law that governs much of your situation is the law of the state where you reside, not where your employer is headquartered.

Most people live and work in the same state, but there are edge cases, e.g. you live in New Jersey but commute into the NYC office for work every day.

If you're a fully remote employee (e.g. you worked at Meta, which is headquartered in California, but are assigned as a remote employee and you live in Michigan, then Michigan state law applies to you).

A good starting rule of thumb is to check what state tax withholdings apply to your W-2/pay stubs. That state is what likely applies to your case.

State laws vary significantly on things like WARN notice periods, background check rules, and protected class protections. Before you do anything else, find out what your specific state law covers.

2. Know whether you fall into a protected class

There are many protected classes that you could fall under, such as but not limited to age (if you're over 40, federal law covers you under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act), gender, pregnancy, or disability. Being in a protected class doesn't mean you can't be laid off. But if your termination connects in any way to that characteristic, you may have legal grounds that can translate directly into negotiating leverage.

One thing worth knowing if you're over 40 and got laid off as part of a reduction in force (RIF): federal law may require your employer to give you a list of job titles and ages for everyone considered in the layoff, including people who weren't cut. This comes from the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), and it applies when the company is also asking you to sign a severance agreement that waives your right to sue for age discrimination.

The list won't have names on it, but it will show the age distribution across titles. If the age data in that disclosure looks skewed toward older workers being let go while younger ones were kept, it may be worth chatting with an employment attorney before you sign anything. Once you sign, it's much harder to pursue a claim.

And if you're over 40: you're entitled to a minimum of 21 days to review your severance agreement, and 7 days to revoke it even after you've signed.

3. Is legal action worth pursuing?

The two times in a job when you have the most negotiating power are when you're starting the job and when you're leaving it.

Companies don't want claims, headlines, or prolonged disputes. Juries tend to be more sympathetic to individuals than to large corporations, and companies price that into how they handle these situations. That dynamic gives you more room to push than most people feel like they have in the first days after a layoff.

Alex Daniels shared a rough rule of thumb to think about whether legal action makes financial sense. Employment litigators work on contingency, taking 30% to 40% of whatever they recover for you. That means if your current severance is worth $50K, you'd need to walk away with more than $100K for the math to work after fees, plus whatever you'd assign to the time and stress of a formal dispute. His rough rule: 2X your current package is the floor worth clearing before it may make sense to engage an employment litigator.
​

4. Signing deadlines are usually not as hard as they look

Several people in the session asked whether the deadline on their agreement was a real cutoff. It's often not.

Companies routinely re-date agreements when negotiations run past the deadline. If you're over 40, they're legally required to give you at least 21 days to review, which effectively sets a floor on how fast they can push you. For others it varies, but don't treat the date in the letter as set in stone. It's worth politely asking for more the time to review everything.

Emergency podcast episode with Alex Daniels coming soon!

This session had more way more questions than we had time to answer. If you were recently laid off and want to think through your specific situation with us, you can book a free call here: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call.

We also recorded an emergency Gentle Power Podcast episode with Alex Daniels yesterday where we covered more topics on severance negotiations. We'll share here in our newsletter once the episode is published. Stay tuned!

To connect with Alex Daniels, add him on LinkedIn or visit his website, DecryptedLaw.com.

And important legal disclaimer: Alex Daniels is a lawyer, but he's not your lawyer. Everything above is general guidance, and employment law has a lot of edge cases that depend on your specific situation and location. We're also neither advocating for nor recommending that you take legal action against your employer.

Speak directly with an employment attorney in your state if you'd like to explore your options. If you need any recommendations for CA-based employment lawyers, reply back to this email and we're happy to connect you with some we know in our network.
​

Warmly,

Gerta & Alex​
​Founders, YourNegotiations.com

P.S. Know someone interested in negotiations?

Send them our way and we’ll thank you with $250 for each person who becomes a client. No cap.

A quick intro or an email to alex@yournegotiations.com works.