Severance is a negotiation, not a gift

Somewhere in your house is a document with a number in it, and you have been treating it like a verdict. It is not a verdict. Severance in the United States is not legally required in most cases, which cuts both ways: the company did not have to offer it, and the first number they offered was chosen by someone whose job was to choose a defensible number, not a generous one. Treat the document as the opening position of a short negotiation you are allowed to have.

What the norm looks like

Norms matter in negotiation the way comparables matter in house prices. The company knows the norm; the asymmetry is that you might not. Now you do. If you have nine years of tenure and were offered four weeks, the offer is below the common range for your tenure, and saying so, politely, in writing, is not an accusation. It is a fact about benchmarks.

Read the whole package before weighing the headline number. What is usually in there: weeks of pay, treatment of unused vacation, sometimes months of employer-paid health coverage, sometimes outplacement services, sometimes a prorated bonus, sometimes a promise not to contest your unemployment claim. What is also in there: a release of claims, maybe a non-disparagement clause, occasionally a non-compete, and a rehire-eligibility line that matters if you ever wanted to return. Ask for the agreement electronically and read it somewhere that is not the parking garage.

What you can ask for

You will not get everything. You are choosing from a menu, and a short, reasonable ask has the best odds.

• More weeks. The single most common successful ask. "Two additional weeks" is a specific, bounded request a director can approve without a committee.
• Employer-paid health months. Because the full cost of coverage is about to land on you, months of premium coverage are worth real money. What that coverage actually costs is the health-insurance guide's business; here it is enough to know it is one of the most valuable asks.
• Outplacement services, if you want them, and proration of a bonus you partly earned.
• Clean language. A neutral reference clause, a promise not to contest unemployment, and removal of any non-compete that would restrict your next move. These cost the company almost nothing, which is exactly why they are winnable.

On timing: you are not obligated to use all twenty-one or forty-five days, and companies often prefer you sign sooner. That preference is leverage. A polite, fast, specific counter in the first week is a fair trade: they get certainty, you get a better package. Never let anyone imply the offer evaporates if you ask a question. Policies vary, and in practice employers almost never pull an offer over a polite written counter, but "almost never" is the honest word, not "never."

The email

One email, short, professional, no threats, no lawsuit talk unless a lawyer put it there. Adapt and send:

Subject: Separation agreement, [your name]

[Name],

Thank you for the conversation this week, and for putting the agreement in writing. I have a few questions after reviewing it.

My tenure is [nine] years, and the proposed [X] weeks sits below the one-to-two weeks per year range that is standard for roles at my level. I would like to discuss bringing the package to [X plus two] weeks, or alternatively [three] months of continued health coverage.

I am also asking that the agreement confirm the company will not contest my unemployment claim, and that my reference be limited to dates of employment and title, which I understand is standard.

I am prepared to sign promptly once we have the terms right, and I would like to keep the process to the next week if possible.

[Your name]

Notice what the email does not do. It does not mention lawyers, discrimination, or anger. It names the norm, asks for something specific, and offers speed in exchange. On employment-focused forums, this shape of quiet written counter comes up over and over from people who made it work, alongside the equally consistent advice not to sign anything on the spot. If your situation includes anything that smells like a legal claim, recent protected-activity timing, a demotion history, an odd pattern in who was cut, spend an hour with an employment attorney before you counter. Many consult cheaply or free, and the OWBPA disclosures you received with a group layoff letter are exactly what a lawyer wants to see.

One structural detail belongs here because it affects your runway: a lump sum and salary continuation can interact differently with unemployment. In some states, payments structured as ongoing salary can postpone the start of benefits, while a lump sum may not. The rules are state-specific and change, so ask your state unemployment agency directly before you choose a payment shape. This is exactly the kind of question agencies answer on the phone all day.

When the signed agreement comes back and the deposit lands, it becomes one of the three inputs of your runway number, alongside savings and unemployment insurance. One input down, two to count.