Severance Agreements in Oklahoma

You've just lost your job. HR hands you a stack of papers — a severance agreement — and tells you to sign if you want your severance pay. They might give you a few days to decide, or they might pressure you to sign before you leave the building. Either way, you're in shock, unsure whether the offer is fair, and worried that if you push back, you'll lose even this modest safety net.

Before you put pen to paper, understand this: that severance agreement was drafted by the company's lawyers to protect the company, not you. The primary purpose of every severance agreement is to obtain a release of legal claims — your agreement not to sue, ever, for anything related to your employment. The severance payment is the price the company pays for that release. And once you sign, there is usually no going back.

What You're Actually Giving Up

The centerpiece of every severance agreement is the release of claims. By signing, you waive the right to sue the company for wrongful termination, discrimination based on age, race, sex, disability, or any other protected characteristic, harassment, retaliation for protected activity, FMLA violations, wage and hour claims, breach of contract, defamation, and — in agreements with the broadest language — any other claims arising from your employment, whether you currently know about them or not. Some companies use release language so sweeping that you're giving up claims you haven't discovered yet, potential future claims that relate back to events during your employment, and even the right to participate in class actions.

The release is the term the company cares about most. Everything else in the agreement — the severance amount, the confidentiality clause, the non-disparagement provision — exists to support that release or to extract additional concessions from you while you're in a vulnerable position.

The Terms Beyond the Release

Severance agreements are rarely just about money and a release. They typically contain a web of additional provisions, each designed to protect the company's interests in different ways.

Confidentiality provisions restrict what you can say about the agreement — sometimes prohibiting you from disclosing the severance amount, sometimes going further to bar you from discussing the circumstances of your departure or any information learned during your employment. Violations may trigger a clawback requiring you to return the severance payment, which creates a powerful chilling effect on your ability to talk about what happened.

Non-disparagement clauses prohibit you from making negative statements about the company, its employees, or its products. These clauses can be extraordinarily broad, potentially restricting your ability to post honest reviews, discuss your termination with prospective employers in candid terms, or even cooperate with government investigations. Notably, the company rarely agrees to the same restriction — they can say whatever they want about you while you're contractually muzzled.

Non-compete and non-solicitation provisions sometimes appear in severance agreements, either reminding you of existing restrictions from your employment agreement or — more problematically — imposing entirely new ones. In Oklahoma, non-compete agreements are generally unenforceable against employees, but non-solicitation provisions restricting you from contacting former clients or coworkers may be upheld. Be particularly cautious about employers who use severance agreements to impose restrictions that weren't part of your original employment terms. Under 40 O.S. § 165.3, your employer owes you final wages regardless of whether you sign a severance agreement — the severance payment itself is additional consideration for the release.

Cooperation clauses require you to assist the company in future litigation, regulatory matters, or investigations, sometimes indefinitely and sometimes at your own expense. And return-of-property provisions require you to confirm you've returned all company materials, which can become contentious if you've retained copies of documents you might need to support a future claim.

What's Negotiable — and How to Negotiate

The initial severance offer is almost never the final one. Employers expect negotiation, and the factors that create leverage are straightforward: the longer your tenure, the stronger your potential legal claims, the more the company needs your cooperation, and the more you know about the company's internal operations, the more bargaining power you hold.

The severance amount itself is the most obvious target for negotiation. Companies start with their lowest reasonable offer and have room to increase it. Length of service matters — an employee with fifteen years of tenure has a stronger argument for six months of salary than someone who was there for six months. But the most powerful leverage comes from legal claims. If the company knows you could file a discrimination complaint, a retaliation claim, or a wrongful termination lawsuit, the severance offer is effectively the price of avoiding that litigation. An attorney who can credibly evaluate and articulate those claims dramatically changes the negotiation dynamics.

Beyond the dollar amount, the scope of the release is often negotiable. You may be able to carve out specific claims, narrow the release to cover only known claims rather than unknown future ones, or exclude certain categories entirely. Reference language — getting the company to commit in writing to a neutral or positive reference — can be worth as much as additional severance pay if you're job hunting. And making the non-disparagement obligation mutual, so the company is equally restricted from making negative statements about you, is a reasonable request that is frequently achievable.

Red Flags That Demand Attention

Certain provisions should trigger immediate concern and likely require professional review before you sign. A release that covers claims you don't know about yet is particularly dangerous if you suspect there may be undisclosed wage issues, unpaid commissions, or discrimination you haven't fully investigated. New restrictive covenants that didn't exist in your original employment agreement — non-competes or non-solicitation clauses imposed for the first time in a severance agreement — are a major red flag, as the company is extracting new concessions during your most vulnerable moment.

Excessive confidentiality provisions that prevent you from discussing your own work history or sharing information that isn't genuinely confidential can interfere with future employment. Open-ended cooperation obligations requiring you to assist the company indefinitely, at your own expense, and potentially against your own interests deserve careful scrutiny. And penalty provisions — clawback clauses requiring you to return the severance plus the company's attorney's fees if you breach any term — create disproportionate risk that may make the entire agreement unwise to sign.

Special Protections for Workers Over 40

If you're 40 or older, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) provides mandatory procedural protections that the employer must follow for a valid waiver of age discrimination claims. The company must give you at least 21 days to consider the agreement in an individual termination (45 days if you're part of a group layoff), provide a 7-day revocation period after you sign during which you can change your mind, include specific written language advising you to consult an attorney, and clearly identify the claims you're waiving. If the employer fails to satisfy any of these requirements, the waiver of age discrimination claims is invalid — even if you signed the agreement voluntarily and accepted the severance payment. These protections exist because Congress recognized that older workers are particularly vulnerable during job loss and need time and information to make informed decisions.

When to Walk Away

Sometimes the best response to a severance offer is "no." Consider declining when you have strong legal claims that are worth significantly more than the severance being offered, when the agreement requires waiving claims you're unwilling to surrender, when newly imposed restrictive covenants would seriously harm your ability to find comparable work, when the severance amount is trivial compared to the rights you're relinquishing, or when you believe the termination was illegal and worth litigating.

Walking away from severance preserves all of your legal options but means forgoing the severance payment. This is a strategic decision that depends on the strength of your claims, your financial situation, and your tolerance for the uncertainty and timeline of litigation. It's a decision that benefits enormously from professional evaluation — one that weighs the concrete value of the severance against the realistic potential of your legal claims.

The Value of Legal Review

Having an employment attorney review your severance agreement before signing is almost always worthwhile, regardless of whether you ultimately negotiate changes. Attorneys can identify what rights you're actually waiving (which is often broader than it appears), evaluate whether you have viable legal claims that would change the negotiation dynamics, spot problematic provisions that aren't obvious without legal training, and provide the leverage knowledge that comes from understanding your full range of options.

The cost of a severance review is modest compared to the stakes. Some firms, including ours, offer flat-fee severance review services that provide a comprehensive evaluation at a predictable cost. The investment pays for itself if it leads to even a slightly better deal — or prevents you from signing away claims worth far more than the severance offered.

Don't Sign Under Pressure

Employers routinely create artificial urgency. "This offer expires Friday." "We need your decision by end of day." While some deadlines are real, many are negotiable — and even genuine deadlines can often be extended if you ask. The company wants your signature; they don't want you walking away to file a lawsuit.

If you need more time to consider the agreement or consult with an attorney, ask for it. Remember: the company wrote this agreement to benefit the company. Taking time to understand what you're signing — and potentially improving the terms — is not only reasonable, it's the only responsible approach to a document that permanently affects your legal rights.

You may also want to understand the broader landscape of wrongful termination myths before making decisions about severance — what you think you know about at-will employment in Oklahoma may not be entirely accurate.

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Before you sign away your rights, contact us for a severance review. We'll explain what you're giving up, identify what's negotiable, and help you make an informed decision. Sometimes we tell clients to sign. Sometimes we tell them to negotiate. Sometimes we advise walking away to pursue legal claims. But we make sure every client understands what they're actually agreeing to.

Frequently Asked Questions

What rights do I give up by signing a severance agreement?

Most severance agreements include a broad release of claims covering discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and virtually every other employment-related legal theory. Some agreements also impose new restrictions — non-compete clauses, non-solicitation provisions, and confidentiality terms — that limit your future conduct. The scope varies by agreement, which is why legal review before signing is critical.

Can I negotiate a severance agreement?

Yes. Almost every term in a severance agreement is negotiable, including the severance amount, the scope of the release, non-compete restrictions, reference language, benefits continuation, and confidentiality terms. Your leverage increases significantly when you have viable legal claims the employer wants released. Even employees without obvious claims can often negotiate improvements by asking strategically and being willing to engage.

What if I'm over 40 — do I have extra protections?

Under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), employers must give workers 40 and older at least 21 days to consider the agreement (45 days in a group layoff), a 7-day revocation period after signing, and a written recommendation to consult an attorney. If these procedural requirements aren't met, the age discrimination waiver is invalid — creating a significant opportunity to challenge the agreement even after signing.

Should I sign a severance agreement if I was wrongfully terminated?

Not without legal advice. If you have viable discrimination, retaliation, or wrongful termination claims, those claims may be worth substantially more than the severance offered. An employment attorney can evaluate your potential claims, quantify their realistic value, and help you decide whether to sign, negotiate for better terms, or walk away and pursue litigation.

Can I revoke a severance agreement after signing?

Generally, no. Severance agreements are binding contracts once executed. The exception is the mandatory 7-day revocation period for workers over 40 who waive age discrimination claims under the OWBPA. Outside that narrow window, revoking a signed agreement is extremely difficult. This makes pre-signing legal review essential.

What is a non-disparagement clause?

A non-disparagement clause prohibits you from making negative statements about the company, its employees, or its products. These clauses can be extremely broad, potentially restricting honest online reviews, candid conversations with prospective employers, and even cooperation with government investigators. Push for mutual non-disparagement — so the company is equally restricted — and scrutinize the scope carefully before agreeing.

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This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.