“They offered me severance.”

What to look for

How broad is the release? Language releasing “any and all claims” is standard in severance agreements and is exactly the language that creates the problem. What you want is an express carve-out stating that the agreement does not release, waive, or affect any pending or future workers’ compensation claim.

Is there a separate workers’ compensation settlement attached? Sometimes there is, and sometimes it is presented as part of the same package. A workers’ compensation claim can only be settled through a Compromise and ReleaseC&R — Compromise and Release A lump sum that closes future medical treatment permanently. or Stipulations approved by a workers’ compensation judgeWCJ Workers’ Compensation Judge. Decides your case. There is no jury. — not by a private employment agreement. If the paperwork suggests otherwise, that is a reason to stop.

Does it require you to resign? Resigning changes your position on several things — the supplemental job displacement voucher, any modified-duty analysis, and how a § 132a claim looks.

Is there a non-disparagement or confidentiality clause? Those are common. Note that California limits how far confidentiality can reach where the underlying conduct is unlawful.

Is there a deadline on it? There usually is, and it is usually shorter than it needs to be. Ask for more time. It is a normal request and it is frequently granted.

The timing question

If severance appeared shortly after you reported an injury, filed a claim, or asked for accommodation, note the sequence and the dates.

That does not automatically mean anything improper happened. It also might. The law provides a remedy where someone is punished for filing a claim, and it has a one-year deadline that runs separately from everything else. What § 132a covers.

Write down the dates now, before the details blur. Who said what, when, and in what order.

What generally cannot be signed away

Your right to file a workers’ compensation claim cannot be prospectively waived — the system does not permit it.

Benefits already accrued are not the employer’s to release in a private agreement.

And in California, an agreement cannot prevent you from reporting suspected unlawful conduct to a government agency, regardless of what the confidentiality clause says.

What to actually do

Ask for the deadline to be extended, in writing. Then get the agreement read by someone who is looking at both sides — the employment side and the comp side. Those are different questions and a document can be fine on one and damaging on the other.

And be honest with yourself about why you are considering it. If the answer is that you cannot pay rent, that is a real problem — but it is a problem with other solutions, including an expedited hearing and the self-executing penalties on late payments. I can’t afford to wait.