Texas Separation and Release Agreement
Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code sets no consideration or revocation period for a severance release, so the federal age-discrimination waiver rules supply the timing for workers 40 and over. Texas law matters in what the release must say and what it cannot reach. A release must mention the claims it covers, certain statutory rights cannot be waived, and since September 1, 2025 a confidentiality term cannot bar disclosure of sexual abuse.
What Texas law does to this document
Federal timing rules for workers 40 and over
This point is federal law. A waiver of age discrimination claims is knowing and voluntary only if the employee is advised in writing to consult an attorney and is given at least 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days in a group termination program. The employee must also have at least seven days after signing to revoke. A waiver cannot stop the employee from filing a charge with the EEOC or taking part in its investigation.
29 U.S.C. § 626(f)A Texas release must mention the claim
To release a claim in Texas, the releasing instrument must mention the claim to be released. Claims that are not clearly within the subject matter of the release are not discharged, even if they existed when it was signed. A separation agreement should therefore describe the categories of claims it covers and not rely on a bare reference to all claims.
Victoria Bank & Trust Co. v. Brady, 811 S.W.2d 931 (Tex. 1991)Rights a release cannot waive
An agreement by an individual to waive, release or commute the right to unemployment benefits is not valid. An agreement by an employee to waive the right to workers' compensation is void, except as the workers' compensation statute itself allows. A Texas release should carve these out and not purport to cover them.
Tex. Lab. Code §§ 207.071(a), 406.035Severance and unemployment benefits
A person is disqualified from unemployment benefits for a benefit period in which the person receives wages in lieu of notice or severance pay. The statute's definition of severance pay excludes money received under a release or settlement that is based on an alleged violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 or on a claim filed in connection with the employment. It also excludes money due under a written contract negotiated before the separation. How the payment is structured and described can therefore affect when benefits begin.
Tex. Lab. Code § 207.049Final pay comes first
A discharged employee must be paid all earned wages not later than the sixth day after discharge, and an employee who resigns must be paid by the next regular payday. That duty does not depend on signing a release. Severance counts as wages under the Payday Law only when it is owed under a written agreement or a written policy of the employer, and the Workforce Commission's rule excludes payments made in exchange for a release of claims.
Tex. Lab. Code §§ 61.001(7), 61.014; 40 Tex. Admin. Code § 821.25(b)Confidentiality cannot cover sexual abuse
Under a statute effective September 1, 2025, any confidentiality or nondisclosure provision in an employment, settlement or other agreement is void to the extent it prohibits a person from disclosing an act of sexual abuse or facts related to it. The definition includes sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault under the Penal Code. The parties may still agree to keep other settlement terms confidential, including the amount paid.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 129C.001, 129C.002Where people go wrong in Texas
- Assuming the generator's release names Texas claims: it lists federal statutes and refers to state law only as corresponding state and local statutes, so an employer that wants claims under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code mentioned by name has to add them.
- Holding the final paycheck until the release is signed, when earned wages are due within six days of discharge regardless.
- Writing a confidentiality or non-disparagement clause broad enough to bar disclosure of an act of sexual abuse, which is void to that extent.
How the generator works
A severance-for-release agreement that trades a defined severance payment for a general release of claims, with the ADEA/OWBPA machinery for employees 40+ and 2026-current disclosure and carve-out language. Answer a short interview and the draft assembles as you go, with Texas already set as the governing state. Download it as PDF or Word. No fee. No account.