A severance agreement is a contract that an employer may ask an employee to sign when they are terminated from a job. Severance pay is often offered in exchange for an employee’s release of their claims against the employer. Severance contracts that contain a release of claims against an employer in exchange for severance pay or other benefits are legal, enforceable, and binding. Claims that are waived may be not just the current outstanding claims, but also unknown claims and future claims. Severance agreements need to be carefully reviewed to ensure that both parties are on the same in wrapping up all the outstanding issues, as well as to ensure that only the claims meant to be waived had been waived.