Is severance negotiable, and should you sign right away?

Severance is generally not legally required in the United States unless an employment contract, a company policy, or a collective bargaining agreement provides it, or a mass layoff triggers WARN Act notice obligations. What is offered is therefore a negotiation rather than a formula, and employers offer it primarily to obtain something in return: your signature on a release waiving legal claims against them. Understanding that trade is what gives you leverage, because the release is worth something to them.

Take the time. If you are 40 or older, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act requires that you be given at least 21 days to consider an agreement waiving age discrimination claims, extended to 45 days in group layoffs along with disclosure of the ages and job titles of those selected and not selected, plus 7 days after signing during which you can revoke. Signing on the spot forfeits the review period you are entitled to and the chance to have an employment attorney read it, which for any meaningful package is money well spent.

What is negotiable beyond the dollar amount. The number of weeks, continuation of health coverage or reimbursement of COBRA premiums, the vesting treatment of equity, the characterization of the departure as a resignation or layoff, which affects unemployment eligibility, a neutral or agreed reference, removal or narrowing of non-compete and non-disparagement clauses, and the timing of payment across tax years. Also check for provisions people miss: whether accrued vacation is being paid separately as your state may require regardless of the agreement, whether you retain the right to file a charge with the EEOC, which cannot lawfully be waived even if the agreement is sloppily worded, and whether any clause bars you from discussing wages or workplace conditions in ways that conflict with labor law.