General legal information for California workers — read it, then tell us what happened.
A California severance agreement can exchange pay or benefits for a release of legal claims and other promises. Before signing, identify the claims being waived, payment timing, tax treatment, benefits, reference language, confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation, arbitration, and any post-employment restrictions. If this is happening to you, California law gives you real protections — speak with us 24/7, free and private, and leave with a video call booked with a California employment attorney who already understands your story.
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None of these alone decides a case — but each is worth writing down while it is fresh:
Deadlines in employment cases are real, strict, and vary by claim — talking to an attorney early protects your options.
Protect your options — speak with us →You talk; we listen and organize. These are the questions that give your story its weight:
Usually not for a private at-will employee unless an employment agreement, severance plan, company policy, collective bargaining agreement, or other promise requires it. Final earned wages, accrued vacation, and other amounts already owed are separate from optional severance.
A release may cover discrimination, retaliation, wage, contract, tort, and other claims through the signing date. Some rights cannot lawfully be waived or restricted, and agency-reporting rights require special treatment. The precise release language matters.
The deadline may come from the agreement, a plan, or special law. Federal law provides specific consideration and revocation periods for certain waivers of age-discrimination claims, with different rules for individual and group programs. Do not assume every agreement uses the same period.
Often yes, although an employer is not required to accept changes. Negotiation can address payment, benefits, reference terms, announcement language, confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation, tax treatment, and removal or narrowing of disputed restrictions.
Consider speaking with an attorney when the facts involve money owed, job loss, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, leave denial, or a deadline. This site provides general information and intake support, not legal advice.
No. Submitting information or using the intake assistant does not create an attorney-client relationship unless an attorney agrees to represent you in writing.
Start with the governing statute and agencies, then bring your specific facts to an attorney. These links are primary public sources, not substitutes for advice.
The law is statewide; the workplaces are local. Start with your city, or speak with us from any of the 58 counties:
Speak with us now — free, private, any hour. Tell your story once, and leave with a video call booked with a California employment attorney.
Free · Private · Any hour — start by talking, not typing.