SEPARATION AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE

(State-specific base: AL)

[// GUIDANCE: Use employer letterhead if desired. Confirm compliance with state wage payment, PTO payout, and any required language before issuing.]

1. Parties and Key Dates

• Employer: [Company legal name and entity type]; address: [address].
• Employee: [Employee legal name]; address: [address].
• Separation date: [date].
• Final pay timing: Alabama has no specific state final paycheck statute for private employers; pay all earned wages/commissions promptly and no later than the next regular payday (or earlier if required by Employer policy/contract), consistent with federal law. Do not condition statutory wages on signing this Agreement.
• PTO/vacation payout: only if required by written policy/offer/CBA; cite or attach the policy if paying out.

2. Consideration and Benefits

• Severance: [amount] payable [lump sum/installments] less required withholdings; conditioned on timely execution and non-revocation.
• COBRA/benefits: [duration and amount of employer contribution]; subject to plan terms.
• Outplacement or transition support: [if any].

3. Equity, Bonus, and Other Compensation

• Equity awards: state treatment of vested/unvested equity, exercise deadlines, and post-termination service rules.
• Bonus/commissions: specify earned/unearned status, proration, and payment timing.
• Expense reimbursement: confirm all business expenses have been submitted; commit to pay in compliance with state law.

4. Release of Claims and Carve-Outs

• Employee releases Company and affiliates from all claims through the signing date arising from employment or separation.
• Carve-outs: enforcement of this Agreement; vested benefits; claims arising after signing; unemployment or workers compensation benefits; indemnification rights; rights that cannot be waived by law; right to file or cooperate with agencies (EEOC, NLRB, DOL, SEC, OSHA, state equivalents); whistleblower and protected disclosures; NLRA Section 7 rights for non-supervisory employees; Speak Out Act and any state Silenced No More style protections.
• Unknown claims: release covers known and unknown claims to the fullest extent permitted under Alabama law.

5. ADEA/OWBPA (if 40 or older)

• Consideration period: [21 or 45] days; revocation period: 7 days after signing.
• Written advice to consult independent counsel; employee acknowledges opportunity to do so.
• If part of group exit, attach required decisional-unit disclosures where applicable.

6. Confidentiality, Non-Disparagement, and Protected Disclosures

• Confidentiality limited to Agreement terms and underlying negotiations, subject to legal requirements and protected disclosures.
• Non-disparagement: mutual, time-limited, excludes truthful testimony, agency filings, and protected concerted activity. Include Alabama’s non-disparagement safeguard: no liability for good-faith statements made for legitimate purposes (e.g., government agency reports, legal compliance, response to legal process).
• Protected disclosures: nothing restricts reporting suspected illegality, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wages, or safety issues to government agencies or making disclosures protected by the Speak Out Act or any state analog.

7. Restrictive Covenants and No-Rehire (Optional)

• Confirm continuing obligations under existing NDAs, invention assignment, and any enforceable non-solicit/non-compete. For noncompetes/nonsolicits, follow Ala. Code § 8-1-190 (e.g., identify protectable interest, reasonable scope, duration presumptions—employee noncompetes ≤2 years; customer nonsolicits ≤18 months). Tailor or remove unless compliant.
• No-rehire clause optional; include only if lawful in AL and consistent with public policy.

8. Return of Property and Information Security

• Employee confirms return of all devices, files, credentials, and confidential information; no copies retained; accounts access terminated except as required by law.
• No deductions/offsets from final wages except as permitted by law and consistent with FLSA minimum wage/overtime rules.

9. Dispute Resolution

• Governing law: AL.
• Forum: [court location]; arbitration optional. If arbitration is selected, exclude claims that cannot be compelled to arbitration (for example, claims covered by the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act) and allow small-claims court access.
• Jury waiver only if enforceable under AL law.

10. State-Specific Overlay Checklist

• Final wages: pay promptly, no later than next regular payday (or earlier per policy/contract); wages not conditioned on release.
• PTO/vacation payout only if required by written policy/offer/CBA; cite or attach terms.
• Non-disparagement: include Alabama safeguard for good-faith statements made for legitimate purposes.
• Noncompete/nonsolicit: ensure compliance with Ala. Code § 8-1-190 (protectable interest; reasonable scope; duration presumptions: ≤2 years for noncompete, ≤18 months for customer nonsolicit); consider removing if not compliant.
• Deductions only as permitted by law and consistent with FLSA.
• Translation/readability or notary/witness needs (if any) for AL use.

11. Signatures

Employer: ___________________________ Date: __________
Name/Title: __________________________

Employee: ___________________________ Date: __________

[Optional exhibits: OWBPA group disclosure; payment schedule; reference letter; restrictive covenant summary; any state-permitted unknown-claims waiver text.]