Plain-words guide

Over 40? Your signature comes with a federal checklist

Age 40 is the line. Cross it, and a severance agreement that asks you to give up age-discrimination claims must satisfy a federal list of requirements — or the release of those claims does not hold. Most workers never see the list. Here it is.

Your extra rights, plainly

Time: 21 days to consider (45 in a group layoff), counted from the final terms, restarted by material changes, never shorten-able by the company.
A second thought: 7 days after signing to change your mind (revocation); the deal is not effective until they pass.
Plain writing: the agreement must be written so the average worker it covers can understand it.
The law named: the age-discrimination law must be specifically referenced.
Nothing future: you cannot be asked to release claims that arise after signing.
Something extra: the release must be bought with consideration beyond what you were already owed.
Lawyer advice, in writing: the agreement itself must tell you to consult an attorney.
The list (group layoffs): titles and ages of those selected, ages of those not.

Why the list has teeth

Because of strict compliance (Oubre, Supreme Court, 1998): miss an element and the age-claims waiver fails — and you do not have to return the money to challenge it. That is real leverage, and it is why the paperwork audit matters more than any single clause. It is also why pressure is a tell: a company hurrying you through a window the law guarantees is telling you something about how its paper would read slowly.

What changes in practice

Use the whole window. Read everything (the kit's clause decoder). Audit the paper (the kit's checklist, including the Exhibit A audit in a group layoff). Negotiate the movable items. And if your facts carry a red flag — protected complaint or leave in your recent past, a skewed layoff list, serious equity — spend the flat fee ($350–$750 is the going range) on the read the statute itself tells you to get.

Go deeper

Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit

The clause-by-clause decoder — every clause in plain words: what it means, what to look for, the exact questions to raise
The paperwork audit (the legal checklist) — every item the law names for workers 40+, checked against your documents
The group layoff list audit (Exhibit A) — titles and ages of who was picked and who was not, checked line by line. No other tool does this
The negotiation playbook — what companies actually move on (money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, your reference) and the words that move them
Ready-to-send scripts: asking for more time, asking for changes, and the change-your-mind letter (revocation)
The red-flag page — the short list of facts that mean a lawyer's paid hour is worth it, and how to find one who does this daily

Get the SeveranceDecoded Kit — $49

One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.