Releases

Employee releases are most often used when you lack proper documentation to fire, but you want to end an employment relationship and avoid the possibility of a lawsuit. Releases can also be used to offer early retirement to a worker, or when you are seeking to end an employment contract early by buying out the worker. To be effective, the release must be:

Here are a few tips to increase the chances that your release will be "iron-clad" if challenged in court:

Sample employment termination contract.

If the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) applies to you (generally, if you have 20 or more employees during 20 or more weeks in the year) and if a worker is more than 40 years old, there are special rules that apply. These rules are designed to make sure that the release was signed "knowingly and voluntarily."

There are a few other requirements if the waiver is requested as part of any exit incentive or other employment termination program offered to a class of employees. If you are offering such a program to a group of employees, the individuals must be informed in writing about: