Free Severance Agreement Review for California Employees

Before You Sign Away Your Legal Rights, Find Out What You May Be Giving Up.

Bryant Worker's Law represents California employees. If your employer has offered you a severance agreement, we offer a free attorney review and a short written assessment of the agreement and your options.

We examine what your employer is offering, what compensation you may already be owed, what legal rights you would surrender, and whether accepting the agreement, negotiating better terms, or pursuing potential employment claims appears appropriate.

Sometimes signing the agreement is the right decision. Our goal is to help you understand your options before you decide.

FREE ATTORNEY REVIEW + WRITTEN ASSESSMENT

Understand:

• What your employer is offering.
• What legal rights you may be giving up.
• Whether you may have negotiating leverage.
• How an existing or proposed arbitration agreement affects your options.
• Whether accepting, negotiating, or pursuing a claim appears appropriate.

No charge for the review or written assessment.

Who may benefit

A review may be worth requesting if you're a California employee and:

• you've been offered a severance or separation agreement and haven't signed it yet;
• you were let go after a complaint, a leave of absence, a pregnancy, an accommodation request, or a report of conduct you believed was illegal;
• you're 40 or older, especially if you were part of a group layoff;
• the agreement includes arbitration, broad confidentiality, or other restrictions you don't understand;
• you're being asked to give up a bonus, commissions, equity, or other significant compensation;
• you aren't sure whether you're being paid everything you're already owed.

If you've already signed, contact us anyway. Some agreements have a revocation period, and we can tell you whether a review would still be useful.

None of these situations means you have a legal claim, and a review doesn't mean we'll recommend anything other than signing.

What the review examines

When we review an agreement, we look at the whole document, the documents it refers to, and your situation, including:

Area	What we look at	Learn more
The money	The severance amount; what you're already owed regardless of signing (final wages, vacation, commissions and bonuses, any WARN pay, benefits); payment terms and any repayment obligations	Before you sign
What you'd give up	The release of claims; the Civil Code section 1542 waiver; potential employment claims, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower, and wage claims	The release
Deadlines	Signing deadlines; revocation periods; age-waiver (OWBPA) requirements if you're 40 or older; filing deadlines for any claims	Deadlines
Arbitration	Any arbitration agreement you signed during employment; any arbitration terms in the severance agreement, including language that reaffirms, incorporates, or replaces an earlier agreement; whether they appear enforceable; what they cover; who decides disputes about them; forum and costs; and how they affect your choices	Arbitration clauses
What you could say and do afterward	Confidentiality, nondisparagement, noncompete and nonsolicitation, no-rehire, cooperation, references, and attorney-fee clauses	Clause-by-clause guide
Your options	Whether accepting, negotiating, or pursuing claims appears to make sense, and what more would be needed to decide	Accept, negotiate, or reject?

Arbitration is part of every review. Many employees signed an arbitration agreement when they were hired and don't remember it. A severance agreement can also add, reaffirm, or replace arbitration terms. We ask about both.

Have a Severance Agreement? Find Out What You're Giving Up.

Get a free attorney review and short written assessment of your agreement and options.

A severance agreement may also be a settlement of employment claims

A severance agreement is more than a contract setting out a payment. It may require you to release employment claims arising from discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, unpaid compensation, or other workplace violations.

Evaluating the offer therefore requires more than reading its provisions. It may require considering the circumstances of your employment and termination, potential evidence, available legal remedies, arbitration obligations, and the practical risks of pursuing a claim.

Bryant Worker's Law approaches severance reviews from the perspective of an employment litigation firm representing employees.

The free review is not a comprehensive factual investigation, but it can help identify issues that matter when deciding whether to accept an offer, negotiate, or explore potential legal claims.

What you receive

A Short Written Assessment From an Employment Attorney

If we accept your agreement for review, you will receive a short written assessment explaining:

• What your employer is offering: The severance payment, important conditions, and compensation you may already be entitled to receive.
• What you would give up: Significant legal claims, releases, waivers, and restrictions contained in the agreement.
• How arbitration affects your rights: The potential effect of any existing or proposed arbitration agreement.
• Whether there may be negotiating leverage: Important issues that could support requesting additional compensation or better terms.
• Your options: Whether accepting the agreement, negotiating, or pursuing potential legal claims appears appropriate based on the information available.

The assessment will explain the principal reasons for our conclusions and identify important uncertainties or additional information that may affect the analysis.

There is no charge for this written assessment.

How the process works

Step 1 — Request Your Free Review

Contact us by telephone at 559-985-0440 or through our contact form and choose "Severance Agreement Review" under "Nature of Dispute." Provide basic information about your employer and whether you have already signed the agreement.

Please don't attach or paste your agreement, or a detailed account of what happened, into the form. If possible, don't use a work email account or a company device.

Step 2 — Attorney Screening and Document Review

An attorney personally reviews your inquiry, checks for conflicts of interest, and determines whether we can accept your agreement for review.

If accepted, the attorney will explain which documents to send and how to send them. Please send documents only after the attorney asks for them, and only to the address the attorney gives you.

Step 3 — Receive Your Written Assessment

The attorney reviews the agreement and relevant information and provides a short written assessment explaining significant issues and your options. The attorney may also discuss the findings with you by telephone.

If negotiation or litigation representation appears appropriate, we can discuss that separately, including fees, and confirm it in a written agreement.

Important: Your deadlines continue running.

Contacting us or requesting a free review does not extend any deadline to sign or revoke a severance agreement or file a legal claim.

If your deadline is approaching, call 559-985-0440 rather than relying on the contact form. You may also wish to ask your employer for additional time.

What the review does not do

• It's limited to the review and written assessment. The free review covers reviewing your agreement, providing a written assessment of what we found, and explaining your options. It does not include negotiating with your employer, filing administrative charges or lawsuits, representing you in arbitration or litigation, or conducting a comprehensive factual investigation. Any of that would be a separate arrangement, discussed with you first and confirmed in writing.
• Contacting us doesn't by itself make us your lawyers.
• Not every request leads to a review. We may be unable to review an agreement because of a conflict of interest, the nature of the matter, the time available, or other reasons. If we can't take it on, the attorney will tell you.
• It doesn't guarantee any result. We can't promise that your employer will change its offer, that a claim exists, or what any claim would be worth.
• It's based on what you give us. The review depends on the documents and information you provide.
• It doesn't pause deadlines. See above.
• It doesn't include tax advice. For tax questions, consult a tax professional.

Request a free review

Call 559-985-0440 or use our contact form and choose "Severance Agreement Review." Tell us:

• your name and the best way to reach you;
• your employer's name;
• whether you've signed.

Please don't send the agreement or confidential details through the form. If we can review your agreement, the attorney will tell you how to send it.

If your deadline is approaching, please call 559-985-0440 rather than relying on the contact form. Contacting us does not extend any deadline.

Common questions

Is the review really free?

Yes. There's no charge for the review or the written assessment described on this page. If you later want us to represent you in a negotiation or a claim, we'll discuss fees with you first and put any agreement in writing.

Why do you offer it for free?

For some people who receive a severance agreement, signing it is the right choice, and a review can confirm that. In other cases, the agreement asks an employee to give up claims worth more than the offer, and those are matters we may be able to help with.

What do you need from me?

To start, just your name, contact information, and your employer's name. If we can review the agreement, the attorney will ask you to email it, along with related documents such as an offer letter, any arbitration agreement, and bonus, commission, or equity plans.

Can I upload or attach my agreement on your website?

No. The website doesn't accept documents. If we can review your agreement, the attorney will ask you to email it directly.

How long does a review take?

It depends on the agreement and our current workload. We don't promise a specific turnaround. If your deadline is approaching, please call 559-985-0440 rather than relying on the contact form.

Will I receive a written assessment of my severance agreement?

Yes. If we accept your agreement for a free review and complete that review, you will receive a short written assessment identifying significant provisions, potential concerns, and your options.

The assessment will explain the principal reasons for our conclusions and identify important uncertainties or additional information that may affect the analysis.

The assessment is limited to the agreement and information reviewed. It is not a comprehensive investigation or a guarantee concerning the outcome of negotiations or litigation.

Can I negotiate a severance agreement in California?

Yes. Employees can generally ask employers to negotiate severance terms, including the payment amount, benefits, payment timing, references, and restrictive provisions. An employer is not necessarily required to negotiate or improve its offer.

Our free review can help identify issues that may support a request for better terms. Negotiating with the employer on your behalf is not included in the free service.

Should I have an employment lawyer review my severance agreement before signing?

A legal review can be valuable because a severance agreement may require you to release employment claims, accept restrictions, or reaffirm an existing arbitration agreement.

An employment attorney can help identify important provisions, potential claims, and considerations that may affect whether the offer makes sense.

Bryant Worker's Law offers a free review and short written assessment for California employees whose agreements we accept for review.

Will you negotiate with my employer for me?

Not as part of the free review. If negotiating makes sense and you want our help, representation would be a separate arrangement, discussed with you first and confirmed in writing.

Does contacting you make you my lawyer?

Contacting us doesn't by itself make us your lawyers, and the free review doesn't include representing you in a negotiation or a claim.

Is what I tell you confidential?

California lawyers have confidentiality obligations concerning information received from prospective clients, even when no attorney-client relationship ultimately results. Please provide only the basic information requested until an attorney invites you to send additional details. Ordinary email may not be fully secure. If you have concerns about sending documents electronically, discuss them with the attorney before sending anything.

I already signed. Can you still help?

Possibly. Some agreements have a revocation period, and some terms may not be enforceable. Please call us promptly at 559-985-0440 and tell us when you signed.

Do you review agreements for employees outside Fresno?

We review agreements for employees throughout California.

Learn more before you call

• California Severance Agreements: What Employees Should Know Before Signing: what's owed regardless of signing, deadlines, age waivers, and a before-you-sign checklist.
• Understanding Your California Severance Agreement: A Clause-by-Clause Guide: what releases, arbitration, confidentiality, and other clauses mean.
• Should You Accept, Negotiate, or Reject a California Severance Agreement?: how to weigh the choice.

Attorney advertising. This page describes the free severance agreement review offered by Bryant Worker's Law, PC, 8050 N. Palm Ave., Ste. 300, Fresno, CA 93711. It is not legal advice about your situation. Contacting the firm or sending an inquiry does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. The free review does not include negotiating with your employer, filing a claim, or ongoing representation; any such representation would be agreed separately in writing. Whether we can review a particular agreement depends on conflict screening and other factors.