Failing to provide a departing employee the proper amount of severance pay could lead to a breach of contract. Another potential trouble area is when employers have their employees sign off on waiving some rights, including the right to sue for being wrongfully terminated.
“If an employer waives an employee’s right to sue for wrongful termination, the employee may be unable to recover damages if they are wrongfully terminated,” the article notes. “This is a serious risk that employers should carefully consider before waiving employee rights in a severance agreement.”
Other potential mistakes include failure to disclose all relevant information, not giving employees sufficient time to review the agreement, not getting the employee to sign off on the agreement and not following up after the employee signs the agreement.