While some businesses in New York offer severance packages to their employees, they are generally not legally required to do so unless the employee’s employment contract calls for a severance payment upon termination. New York law does not provide any guidance or rules on whether severance must be provided or what should be included in a severance package. As such, employees are often happy, even relieved, to be offered a severance package at all. At the same time, a company’s offer to provide a severance payment should mean an employee should blindly sign the separation agreement without understanding its terms and future implications. Remember, employers, do not offer severance pay in exchange for signing a severance agreement to be nice. Rather, employers benefit greatly from the peace of mind attained by receiving a full release of all claims by the terminated employee -- especially if there was discrimination or retaliation by your co-workers or the company’s managers.