Free California Severance Agreement Review | Feher Law
Do not sign your severance agreement yet. A California employment attorney at Feher Law will review it free of charge within 48 hours and tell you three things: what rights you are giving up, whether the amount is fair for your situation, and whether the circumstances of your termination mean you may be owed far more than the offer on the table. Under Government Code 12964.5, you have the right to consult an attorney before signing, and your employer must give you at least 5 business days to consider the agreement. Use them.
Get your severance agreement reviewed free
48-hour turnaround. No cost, no obligation, fully confidential.
Key Takeaways
- Never sign the same day. California law (Government Code 12964.5) gives you the right to consult an attorney and a minimum of 5 business days to consider most severance agreements.
- If you are 40 or older, federal law (OWBPA, 29 U.S.C. 626(f)) requires 21 days to consider an individual severance and 45 days in a group layoff, plus 7 days to revoke after signing.
- A severance agreement is a release of claims. Most include a Civil Code 1542 waiver that gives up even the claims you do not know about yet.
- Some rights cannot be waived. Earned wages (Labor Code 206.5) and your right to report unlawful conduct (Government Code 12964.5) survive any agreement.
- Typical California severance runs 1 to 4 weeks of pay per year of service. When the termination itself is legally suspect, negotiated packages routinely reach 2 to 3 times the first offer. Feher Law has recovered $170M+ for California clients.
What Our Attorneys Check in Your Severance Agreement
A severance agreement is written by your employer’s lawyers, for your employer’s benefit. In our free review we go through every clause and flag:
- The release and Civil Code 1542 waiver – exactly which claims you are giving up, including unknown claims.
- Claims you should not be releasing cheaply – discrimination, retaliation, harassment, unpaid overtime, or whistleblower claims under Labor Code 1102.5 that can be worth many times the severance offered.
- Unwaivable rights – wages you have already earned cannot be conditioned on signing (Labor Code 206.5), and no agreement can stop you from reporting unlawful acts.
- Non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses – since the Silenced No More Act, clauses that gag you about unlawful workplace conduct are restricted in California.
- Equity, bonuses, and vesting – unvested stock, pending commissions, and pro-rata bonus language that employers quietly leave out.
- Non-compete and non-solicit language – almost always void in California (Business and Professions Code 16600), yet still used to intimidate.
- References, rehire eligibility, and unemployment – what the agreement says, and does not say, about your next job.
Red Flags That Mean You May Be Owed More
The severance offer often has less to do with generosity than with risk. If any of these apply, the agreement may be pricing a wrongful termination claim at pennies on the dollar:
- You were terminated shortly after taking medical, disability, or family leave
- You complained about harassment, discrimination, safety, or unpaid wages before being let go
- You are over 40 and your duties went to someone younger
- A sudden negative review appeared after years of good ones
- You were the only one “laid off” in your role
California wrongful termination settlements typically range from $30,000 to $300,000 and can exceed $500,000 in strong cases. Before you sign away those claims, see our guide to California wrongful termination settlement amounts or speak with a California wrongful termination lawyer about what your claims are actually worth.
How Much Severance Should You Get in California?
There is no legal minimum severance in California – severance is a contract, which means everything is negotiable. Typical voluntary packages run 1 to 4 weeks of pay per year of service. Executives and long-tenured employees often see more. When our review finds legal claims behind the termination, renegotiated packages commonly land at 2 to 3 times the original offer, and in cases that become lawsuits, far beyond that. To see what the claims you would be waiving could be worth, try our wrongful termination settlement calculator.
What to Expect | Free Severance Review in 5 Steps
- Send us the agreement: Start a chat or call (310) 340-1112 and share the document confidentially. Attorney-client privilege applies to the consultation.
- Attorney review within 48 hours: A Feher Law employment attorney reads every clause – not a paralegal, not software.
- Plain-English call: We walk you through what you are waiving, what is missing, and whether the number is fair.
- Your choice: Sign with confidence, let us negotiate improvements, or pursue the claims the agreement was built to erase.
- You pay nothing unless we win: The review is free. If we take on negotiation or claims, we work on contingency.
Deadlines: Move Fast, But Do Not Panic
Employer deadlines feel urgent by design, but the law builds in time. Most California employees must receive at least 5 business days to consider a severance agreement (Government Code 12964.5). If you are 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days for an individual agreement, 45 days in a group termination, and 7 days to revoke even after signing (29 U.S.C. 626(f)). A 48-hour review fits comfortably inside every one of those windows. What you should not do is let a deadline pressure you into signing unread.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – August 2026
Get your severance agreement reviewed free
48-hour turnaround. No cost, no obligation, fully confidential.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A California employment attorney reviews your agreement and explains it at no cost and with no obligation. If you choose to have us negotiate or pursue claims, we work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we win.
Within 48 hours of receiving your agreement, usually sooner. If your employer's deadline is closer than that, tell us and we will prioritize your review.
No. Government Code 12964.5 expressly protects your right to consult an attorney about a severance agreement, and your employer must give you at least 5 business days to do so. An employer who retaliates for it only strengthens your claims.
There is no legal minimum, but typical packages run 1 to 4 weeks of pay per year of service. If the termination itself was unlawful, the claims being waived are often worth far more than the severance - California wrongful termination settlements typically range from $30,000 to $300,000 or more.
Yes. Severance is a contract offer, and "final" offers move when an attorney identifies legal exposure in the termination. Renegotiated packages commonly reach 2 to 3 times the original number when real claims exist.
Contact us anyway. If you are 40 or older you may have a 7-day revocation window under federal law, some releases are void or unenforceable as written, and rights like earned wages and the ability to report unlawful conduct survive any signature.