Pay or benefits offered when you leave, in exchange for rights.
A severance agreement gives you money or benefits on departure in exchange for giving up rights — almost always the right to sue the employer. The payout amount, benefits continuation, references, and any non-compete are often negotiable. You frequently have time to review and, for older workers, to revoke.
Workers over 40 typically get 21 days to consider an age-claim waiver and 7 days to revoke after signing.
Main AI reads your actual contract, lease, or notice and flags exactly where terms like these put you at risk — in plain language, with the law behind it.
Analyze my document free →Severance is a purchase: the company pays for a release of claims. Check what you're releasing (age-discrimination claims trigger special review windows — commonly 21 days to consider and 7 to revoke for workers 40+), what survives (vested equity, earned bonuses, COBRA terms), and what new obligations arrive dressed as boilerplate: non-disparagement, cooperation clauses, sometimes a fresh non-compete. The amount is negotiable more often than people assume, especially with documented claims or long tenure. Never sign on the spot; the deadline pressure is usually softer than presented.
See this clause in your own document: run a free analysis — findings quote the exact language.