Severance Agreements

Severance Attorney in Florida

Dual-Sided Advocacy for Executives, Professionals & Employers

A severance offer feels like a resolution. It rarely is. What it actually represents is a single opportunity to negotiate before claims are permanently waived. Cadogan Law handles severance agreements for employees and employers across Florida, and the firm’s founder, Gina Cadogan, built her career doing this from both sides of the table.

Gina Cadogan began representing Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, and hospital systems at large national firms before founding Cadogan Law in 2005. That employer-side background isn’t incidental. It means the firm reads a severance agreement the way the company’s lawyers drafted it and knows where the leverage sits. Over 25 years of employment law and civil litigation practice have served clients from South Florida statewide.

Florida employers aren’t legally required to offer severance. When they do, they’re seeking a signed release of claims in return. That exchange creates negotiating room, and a signed agreement closes it.

Contact Cadogan Law at (954) 371-1607 to schedule a consultation before the deadline passes. Virtual consultations are available for clients throughout Florida.

What Sets Cadogan Law Apart on Severance Matters

Gina Cadogan has been selected to Super Lawyers from 2019 to 2025, named to The National Black Lawyers Top 100, and recognized for achieving one of the Top Florida Verdicts of 2014. Cadogan Law is a woman-owned boutique employment litigation firm, and that “boutique” description carries real meaning: clients work directly with Gina Cadogan, not a team of associates.

The firm’s client roster spans both sides of the employment relationship. Business clients range from small family-owned companies to international corporations with over 15,000 employees. Employee clients tend to be executives, managers, sales professionals, and tech sector employees, the people whose severance packages include non-competes, equity provisions, and complex release language that demands careful review.

For disputes that reach litigation, Cadogan Law has access to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. That courtroom background shapes how the firm negotiates. Employers and their counsel may take a different posture when they know the attorney across from them has tried cases and won.

Schedule a Severance Consultation

Most severance agreements carry a signing deadline. Once signed and the revocation period expires, waived claims don’t come back. Cadogan Law offers an initial consultation so Florida executives, professionals, and employers can understand what’s in front of them before committing to anything.

The firm handles matters throughout Florida from its Broward County location, with virtual consultations available. Hablamos español.

Call (954) 371-1607 or reach out online to speak with a severance lawyer at Cadogan Law.

Florida Severance Agreements: What the Law Requires and What’s in the Package

Florida is an at-will employment state. Neither state law nor federal law requires employers to pay severance. When a Florida employer does offer it, the decision is typically driven by a desire to obtain a signed release of claims, enforce a non-compete agreement, or manage the legal and reputational risk that can follow a termination.

Understanding what the employer wants from the agreement clarifies what the employee can ask for in return.

A Florida severance agreement typically includes:

Severance pay amount and payment schedule
Medical benefits continuation
A release of legal claims, including discrimination, retaliation, and wage claims
Non-disparagement obligations for one or both parties
Confidentiality provisions covering the agreement’s terms
Non-compete or non-solicitation restrictions

Florida Statutes Section 215.425 places specific limits on severance for government employees: those with a contractual entitlement may not receive more than 20 weeks of compensation, and those without one may not receive more than six weeks. Private-sector employees aren’t subject to this cap.

Negotiable Terms in a Florida Severance Agreement

The number of weeks initially offered is rarely the final number. Several categories of terms are open to negotiation, and understanding them before signing is the entire point of legal review.

Severance Pay Amount
Tenure, seniority, and the circumstances of the separation can all support a request for additional pay. The initial offer is typically a floor.

Benefits Continuation
Health insurance and other benefits may be extended beyond the separation date through negotiation.

Equity & Stock Options
If unvested equity exists, accelerated vesting or an extended exercise window may be available depending on the plan terms and the circumstances of departure.

Non-Disparagement Clauses
Mutual language can be requested so the employer is equally bound from speaking negatively about the departing employee.

Non-Compete Restrictions
Florida enforces non-compete agreements aggressively under Florida Statutes Section 542.335. Narrowing the geographic scope, duration, or covered activities may be possible through negotiation before signing.

References & Separation Language
How the departure is characterized to future employers can be written directly into the agreement.

Dispute Resolution Provisions
Governing law, venue, and whether arbitration applies all affect how any future dispute would be resolved. These terms are frequently overlooked and rarely raised by employers at the outset.

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Severance Agreement Services for Florida Employers

Cadogan Law advises employers on drafting enforceable severance and separation agreements, drawing on Gina Cadogan’s early career representing large organizations including Fortune 500 companies. A well-drafted agreement can protect the business from discrimination, retaliation, and wage claims while giving the departing employee a clear resolution.

For an agreement to be enforceable in Florida, consideration must be present. The employer must offer something beyond what the employee would ordinarily receive upon separation. When non-compete clauses are included, the consideration supporting those restrictions warrants particular attention. Insufficient consideration can render the non-compete unenforceable even if the rest of the agreement holds.

The firm’s employer clients range from small family-owned businesses to international corporations with more than 15,000 employees. Cadogan Law provides employment counseling on policies, compliance, hiring, and terminations, and that broader context informs how the firm approaches individual separation agreements. A severance agreement doesn’t exist in isolation. It reflects the employer’s practices, the circumstances of the termination, and whatever claims may be on the horizon.

Contact Cadogan Law for Severance Representation in Florida

Whether reviewing an offer received or drafting an agreement that can hold up, the time to act is before anything is signed. Cadogan Law handles severance matters for employees and employers throughout Florida, including Broward County and across South Florida.

Virtual consultations are available. Call (954) 371-1607 or contact the firm online to schedule an initial consultation with a severance attorney at Cadogan Law.

OWBPA Protections for Florida Workers Over 40

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), an amendment to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, establishes minimum review periods that employers must honor when asking employees over 40 to sign a severance agreement. An agreement that fails these requirements may be unenforceable as to age discrimination claims.

The key OWBPA requirements:

Employees over 40 must receive at least 21 days to review the agreement before signing
After signing, employees over 40 have 7 days to revoke; the waiver isn’t effective until that period expires
In a group termination such as a reduction in force or mass layoff, affected employees over 40 must receive 45 days to review
Any waiver of Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims must be knowing and voluntary to be valid

Employees under 40 aren’t subject to a statutory minimum review period under federal or state law, though employers generally allow a reasonable period for review.

When to Consult a Severance Lawyer in Florida

Not every severance agreement requires litigation. Most don’t. But certain circumstances make legal review more than worthwhile.

Attorney review is particularly valuable when:

The release covers multiple claim types including discrimination or retaliation
The agreement includes non-compete or non-solicitation restrictions
Equity or deferred compensation is involved
The termination may involve potential discrimination or retaliation
The agreement is part of a group termination or reduction in force

Once a severance agreement is signed and the revocation period expires, the waived claims generally can’t be revived. The period before signing is the primary window for negotiation, and that window closes when the signature goes on the page.

If an employer later fails to honor the terms of a signed agreement, a breach of contract claim may be available. Agreements may also be challenged on grounds of unconscionability, procedural unfairness such as being pressured to sign without adequate review time, or OWBPA non-compliance for workers over 40. These challenges may be harder to sustain after the fact than negotiation is before it.

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