Direct answer
The separation agreement is the contract that closes a US exit. Most clauses are negotiable: what you release, what the company promises, and what you keep. Read six clauses before signing. The exit paperwork — resignation date record, final pay, benefits windows — is in the exit checklist and the final-pay guide . The resignation letter itself: the 2-week notice generator .
Updated November 9, 2026 · Reviewed against NLRB — protected concerted activity
The separation agreement is the contract that closes a US exit. Most clauses are negotiable: what you release, what the company promises, and what you keep. Read six clauses before signing.
The Six Clauses to Check
- Release scope: waiving claims is normal, but the release must not cover vested wages, equity, unemployment, or vested benefits. Strike that line.
- Non-disparagement: make it mutual. "Employee will not disparage Company" alone is a reference poison; add "Company will not disparage Employee."
- Reference language: ask for the agreed reference format: title, dates, scope, eligibility-to-rehire. The rehire line is read by future background checkers — see the reference guide.
- Garden leave: paid notice weeks with full access: it preserves PTO, vesting dates, and the comp-review window. See the PTO exit rules.
- Cooperation clause: post-employment testimony cooperation is common in executive exits; negotiate the scope, the travel, and the pay.
- ADEA windows: workers 40+ get 21 days to review, 7 days to revoke (OWBPA). Use the window to read, not to stall.
The exit paperwork — resignation date record, final pay, benefits windows — is in the exit checklist and the final-pay guide. The resignation letter itself: the 2-week notice generator.
Put the rule into action
Clauses Worth Adding, Not Just Striking
Negotiation is usually framed as deletion. The higher-value move is insertion: several protections exist only if you ask for them by name.
- Mutual non-disparagement, with the company side defined as statements by officers, not a vague promise.
- An agreed reference format: title, dates, scope, and the rehire-eligibility line, attached as an exhibit.
- Benefit continuation dates: health coverage end date, COBRA offer, and any company-paid premiums.
- Accrued PTO treatment, stated as an amount or a rule, on the final check.
- Unvested equity decision: forfeiture confirmed, or acceleration for a defined period.
- Payment mechanics: dates, lump versus installments, and who issues the W-2 line.
- A cooperation carve-out that limits your time and pays for it where testimony is requested.
Ask for these in writing with the severance negotiation letter, and price them with the severance calculator. Read the release of claims definition before you countersign.
Claims You Generally Cannot Give Up
A broad release reads like it waives everything. Several categories are treated differently, and the wording should say so explicitly.
- Wages already earned, including hours worked and vested amounts.
- Unemployment filing and testimony, which most releases carve out.
- Vested retirement benefits, which follow plan rules rather than your signature.
- Workers compensation claims in most states.
- Protected disclosures to government agencies, and claims that cannot be waived by contract.
Ask for carve-out language naming those categories. Where an arbitration clause exists from hire, check whether the separation agreement expands it, because a new clause signed at exit can change venue, fee allocation, and class rights. Read the arbitration clause definition, and confirm which claims survive the release before signing inside the severance and layoff section.
The Signing Timeline And The Revocation Clock
Deadlines on a severance offer are usually self-imposed by the employer, and one of them is real: the statutory review and revocation periods that apply to age-related waivers for workers 40 and older. Those periods are stated in your document, and group exits carry additional disclosure requirements.
- Read the review period and the revocation period stated on the page, and calendar both dates.
- Ask whether signing before the deadline forfeits anything; often the answer is no.
- Ask for the group information disclosure if the exit is part of a larger round.
- Send your counter as one written response with a reply date of your own.
- Do not sign the same day the document arrives, even if urged.
Where the agreement includes garden leave or paid notice weeks, confirm the dates and access rules in writing; the mechanics are in the garden leave definition. Revocation runs after signing, so the signature starts a clock you cannot pause once it begins.
| Clause | Ask For | Why It Matters |
|---|
| Non-disparagement | Mutual language with defined scope | One-way clauses poison future references |
|---|
| Reference | An attached agreed reference format | Background checkers read the file, not your account |
|---|
| Release scope | Carve-outs for vested wages and benefits | Vested money should never be waived |
|---|
| Payment terms | Dates and W-2 reporting method | Determines the tax year and unemployment weeks |
|---|
| Equity | Written forfeiture or acceleration decision | Vest dates inside notice weeks carry real value |
|---|
| Cooperation | Limits on time plus paid travel | Open-ended cooperation clauses are unbounded |
|---|
For the current text behind these numbers, start with the California job exit rules page and the New York job exit rules page, along with the resignation exit guide hub. Those sources state the rule in full; this page only points at them.
\nFrequently Asked Questions
- Can I negotiate after receiving a separation agreement?
- Yes, and the review period is designed for it. Send one written counter naming the weeks, benefit dates, reference language, and carve-outs you want. Employers expect counters; silence is what locks the original terms.
- Does signing start a deadline I can control?
- Signing starts the revocation period stated in your document, and that window runs automatically. Read the review and revocation numbers before you sign, because after signing you can only wait, not renegotiate.
- Will severance reporting affect my unemployment weeks?
- It depends on your state and on how the payment is labeled and structured. Some states allocate severance across weeks and suspend benefits. Confirm the state rule before you choose between a lump sum and salary continuation.
- Should a lawyer read the agreement before I sign?
- Worth the cost when the release is broad, an arbitration clause is being added, or equity and deferred comp are involved. A short review focuses on the release scope, carve-outs, and payment mechanics, which is where money is lost.
The 21-day review and 7-day revocation windows are the federal age-disclosure rules that apply to workers over 40, and some states add their own review window to separation agreements. Confirm the age-disclosure line with the EEOC, confirm the state review window with the state agency named on the state rule pages, and keep the carve-outs for claims you cannot waive in writing in the same file as the signature date. Count the revocation clock in the notice and last-day calculator so the signature date, the review window, and the last day sit in one dated file.
Sources (official record — verify before filing)
NLRB — protected concerted activity