Separating from a current employer or partner can be a sensitive time for anyone. This can be especially true for high-level officers and professionals. And for any employee, it can be easy to feel intimidated, bullied or powerless during severance negotiations. The severance agreements attorneys of the Sanford Law Firm understand that the employee/employer relationship has historically been an unequal one. We work hard to remedy that situation by aggressively negotiating with employers and establishing our clients in a position of strength.
While Arkansas and most other states are employment-at-will jurisdictions — where an employer may dismiss an employee at will — some employment contracts eliminate this principle. In cases where an employee must essentially consent to dismissal or when the employer wants something from an employee before he or she leaves, that employer may be willing to negotiate a severance agreement. A severance package may also be part of a negotiated settlement to a discrimination or harassment lawsuit.
Severance agreements in Arkansas are binding legal contracts enforceable in court. Employers often agree to pay severance money to certain outgoing employees — either in periodic payments or a lump sum — and may also require some concessions such as the employee’s agreement to a restrictive contract. Because these concessions can have major professional and financial implications for outgoing employees, an experienced lawyer should review them and ensure the employee fully understands the significance of each.
As with all legal contracts, effectively negotiating severance agreements requires extensive knowledge of contract principles, awareness of market conditions and practical experience with industry norms. A severance offer may sound good to an individual employee but ultimately be well below what is customary in the industry. As experienced attorneys, our team at the Sanford Law Firm reviews severance offers to determine if they are fair and negotiates with employers to get our clients favorable agreements.
For more than ten years, the experienced team at the Sanford Law Firm has helped level the playing field between employers and their employees. From our offices in Little Rock and Russellville, our Little Rock separation agreements attorneys serve professionals, executives and employees of all types throughout Arkansas. But we are also ready and willing to work in other states — wherever workers need a strong and principled advocate. Call our Little Rock office at 501-476-6251 or toll free at or contact us online to schedule a consultation regarding your employment issue.