What if My Former Employer Isn’t Complying with My Severance Agreement?

When you separate from your job, and your employer offers you a severance agreement, you expect signing your severance agreement to be the end of the process. You might be entitled to severance payments, benefits, or employment recommendations for a period of time going forward, but in terms of dealing with your employer, you expect the process to be over. The last thing you expect is that you will need to hire a Washington D.C. severance agreement attorney to help you enforce your legal rights.

But this is not an uncommon scenario. Whether intentional or inadvertent, companies regularly fail to meet their contractual obligations. If your former employer is not complying with your severance agreement, it will be important for you to make informed decisions about what to do next.

4 Key Questions for Responding to a Breach of Your Severance Agreement

Has your former employer violated the terms of your severance agreement? If so, making informed decisions about your next steps will involve answering four key questions:

1. What Has Your Former Employer Done (or Failed to Do) That Violated Your Severance Agreement?

First, it will be important to clearly identify the act or omission that constitutes a violation of your severance agreement. Before you do anything else, you will need to ensure that you are correct in believing that your former employer has violated your contractual rights. Some examples of potential violations include:

• Failing to make severance payments
• Making improper deductions or withholdings from severance payments
• Failing to provide continued benefits
• Failing to provide employment recommendations
• Providing unfavorable information to prospective employers

However, whether any of these (or any other acts or omissions) violate your severance agreement depends on the specific terms to which you and your former employer agreed. As a result, to determine if you have grounds to pursue enforcement, you will need to hire an experienced attorney to thoroughly review your severance agreement.

2. Was the Violation Intentional or Inadvertent?

It will also be important to determine whether the violation was intentional or inadvertent. As a practical matter, you may have no way of doing this other than to contact your former employer (or have your attorney contact your former employer for you). If the violation was inadvertent, simply raising the issue may be enough to resolve it. However, if the violation was intentional, you may need to take further action to hold your former employer accountable.

3. What Does Your Severance Agreement Say About Dispute Resolution?

If you need to take further action to hold your former employer accountable, it will be important to see what your severance agreement says about dispute resolution. In many cases, severance agreements require employees to pursue mediation or arbitration (or both) rather than going to court.

These types of mandatory alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provisions are generally enforceable, and if you have agreed to pursue mediation or arbitration in the event of a dispute, you will most likely need to comply with the terms to which you have agreed. As a general rule, even if your former employer has violated your severance agreement, this does not excuse you from meeting your contractual obligations.

4. What Remedies Are Available to You?

Finally, before pursuing legal action against your former employer, you will need to determine what remedies are available to you. This is important for two key reasons: (i) you need to know whether (and to what extent) taking legal action is worth it; and (ii) if you decide to take legal action, you need to know what remedies to seek in ADR or in court.

When you consult with an experienced Washington D.C. severance agreement attorney, your attorney will be able to provide a comprehensive assessment of your legal rights. Your attorney will also be able to provide the insights you need to feel confident that you are making the best decision under the circumstances at hand.

Discuss Your Legal Options with an Experienced Washington D.C. Severance Agreement Attorney

Do you need to make an informed decision about whether to pursue enforcement of your severance agreement? If so, we invite you to get in touch. We represent employees throughout the Washington metropolitan area in disputes over severance agreements and related litigation. To discuss your legal options with an experienced Washington D.C. severance agreement attorney in confidence, give us a call at 410-514-6099 or tell us how we can reach you online today.