Florida employers are generally not required to provide severance to departing employees. However, depending on specific circumstances, many employers will offer severance. This is usually done in order to secure a release of claims that the employee might have against the company, but is sometimes done for the benefit of the employee.
Every severance agreement will impact the rights of the departing employee in some way. It is very important to have these agreements reviewed (employees) or drafted (employers) by an attorney who has experience with these contracts. The internet is full of misleading and inapplicable information about severance agreements. We have seen situations where employers have just used some random severance agreement from the internet that contains provisions that do not follow Florida law, are improperly drafted, or are worthless to the employer. We have also met with clients who have been misinformed by misleading or incorrect information about severance agreements found on the internet.
It is very important that Employees and Employers involve experienced attorneys when dealing with severance agreements.