Sorry to hear you lost your job.

As a result of the pandemic, many businesses are finding themselves with a sudden and drastic drop in revenues. Increasing marketing or seeking other avenues of income are not options at this time. As a result, these businesses are reducing their expenses and the largest of those is often the salaries of their employees. Some businesses are furloughing people for limited amounts of time, but others are laying people off. Some of you may be experiencing this and may be getting separation agreements. You need to know what these agreements mean before you actually sign them.

I’ve had the opportunity to assist a variety of people faced with these difficult circumstances. They come from diverse professions and industries, from engineering to publishing and anything in-between. You want to make sure that you’re aware of the impact of these agreements on your future ability to earn a living. What follows are a few of the important issues you need to consider.

These agreements often provide that, by signing, the former employee releases the former employer from all possible legal claims. Once you sign, you’re no longer allowed to recover any kind of damages from the former employer. Accordingly, you should make sure that you don’t have any legitimate claims for discrimination of any kind, such as age or sexual preference. Your former employer may no longer be responsible for injuries you sustained at work, or any claim that you would otherwise be able to pursue. A lawyer familiar with these issues can help you decide if this is a reason to delay signing such an agreement.

These agreements often contain a confidentiality clause. For a specific period of time, you may not allowed to share information regarding your separation agreement. There may also be a non-compete clause, the purpose of which is to restrict a former employee’s ability to work for a competitor after the end of their employment. New York doesn’t like non-compete provisions. However, they have been enforced where they don’t have greater restrictions than required to protect an employer’s legitimate protectable interest, they don’t impose ”undue hardship on the employee” or could be harmful to the general public; and where they’re reasonably limited in time and geographic scope. For more clarification, you should speak with an attorney.

Oddly enough, these agreements often have a clause specifically stating that the former employer advised the former employee to seek the advice of an attorney. This alone should make you realize that talking to an attorney is a good idea. As these agreements can involve the thousands of dollars in severance or insurance benefits, it’s worth the relatively small amount of money you’ll pay to an attorney to have them review the agreement and advise you accordingly. Peace of mind in these times is extremely valuable.