| name | severance-agreement |
| title | Confidentiality and Severance Agreement |
| description | Drafts a U.S. Confidentiality and Severance Agreement for employment separations with statutory-compliant release of claims, OWBPA compliance, DTSA confidentiality obligations, jurisdiction-tailored restrictive covenants, and NLRA-safe non-disparagement. Use when concluding an employment relationship, negotiating a separation package, resolving employment discrimination or wage claims, or settling employment litigation. Trigger: severance, separation agreement, release of claims, OWBPA, employment settlement. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/severance-agreement |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | employment |
| language | en |
Confidentiality and Severance Agreement
Drafts a litigation-resistant employment separation agreement combining a comprehensive release of claims, confidentiality protections, and post-employment obligations with OWBPA and state-law compliance.
Prerequisites
Collect before drafting:
- Employee: full legal name, position, hire date, termination date, age (drives OWBPA), work state and residence state
- Compensation: salary, accrued PTO, bonus structure, equity (vested/unvested, exercise periods)
- Existing agreements: offer letter, NDA/PIIA, non-compete, indemnification
- Termination context: individual vs. group RIF (affects OWBPA 21- vs. 45-day period), separation reason
- Severance terms: payment amount/structure, COBRA subsidy, outplacement, benefits continuation
- Employer: full legal name, parent/affiliates covered by release
Drafting Workflow
1. Parties and Dates
- Employer legal name as registered with Secretary of State; define "Company Affiliates" if releasing subsidiaries
- Employee full legal name matching tax documents
- Termination date (last day of active work)
- Effective date: day after 7-day OWBPA revocation expires (age 40+) or signing date (under 40)
2. Severance Package
- Cash payment: amount, lump sum vs. installments, trigger (effective date)
- Accrued PTO: mandatory payout states (CA, CO, IL) — not discretionary
- Bonus proration: eligibility cutoff, performance contingencies
- Equity: treatment per plan docs, any acceleration or exercise extension
- COBRA subsidy: duration (3–12 months typical), premium split
- Outplacement: vendor, duration, dollar cap
- Property return: deadline, itemized list
- Payment conditioned on: execution + revocation period expiration + ongoing compliance
- Clawback: cessation of installments + repayment on material breach (must comply with state wage payment laws — CA prohibits most wage deductions; structure as separate contractual obligation)
3. Release of Claims
Covered parties: employer + parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessors, successors, officers, directors, employees, agents, attorneys.
Federal statutes: Title VII, ADA, ADEA, OWBPA, FMLA, FLSA, § 1981, ERISA (non-vested only).
State claims: wrongful discharge, breach of contract, implied covenant, fraud, defamation, invasion of privacy, IIED/NIED, state wage/hour, discrimination, whistleblower statutes.
