Employees departing employment either voluntarily (i.e. resignation/ retirement) or involuntarily (i.e. termination/ forced resignation) may be asked to participate in an exit interview. Some employers try to require an exit interview prior to your departure.

So what should an employee expect to occur in this exit interview?

An exit interview is generally conducted by at least one person who acts as a human resources person for the company, but it could also be conducted by the employee’s manager, boss, supervisor or anyone charged with reviewing the employee’s departure. There may be more than one person in attendance.

Generally, the items discussed in an exit interview, include the following:

(a) Final payments to the departing employee . Specifically, when the employee will receive a final paycheck; whether it will be paid by direct deposit or in another fashion; whether the employee will still be paid commissions; what happens to the employee’s equity (vested vs. unvested); will the employer pay out accrued but unused vacation time; when will the employee’s benefits end; how are benefits rolled over; and information about applying for unemployment benefits, if applicable. Employees should also find out about the company’s process for reference checks and ask any questions about benefits and payments he/she may have. Some company’s have a list that include frequently asked questions and covers items such as 401K, life insurance, disability insurance, COBRA, etc.

(b) Return of Company property . The employee may be a provided a list of all property that must be returned including, among others, keys, ID cards, cell phones, tablets, computers, documents. The employee may be asked to sign an acknowledgement of the property to be returned or which has been returned. The employee should also request or provide a list of all of the employee’s personal items that should be returned.

(c) Review of post-employment obligations . If the employee signed any documents limiting future employment, these documents should be reinforced during this meeting. The employee should expect to receive a copy of any such documents previously signed or can request a copy of these documents so that there is clarity regarding future obligations. Examples of these documents include, without limitation, Non-Compete Agreements, Non-Solicitation Agreements; Workplace Invention Agreements; Intellectual Property Agreements; Confidentiality Agreements. Restrictions may also be found in equity agreements/plans and deferred compensation agreements/plans.

(d) Separation Agreements . Some employers will offer employees severance upon their departure and will provide the employee a document to review with an attorney and sign in exchange for payment. Some employers have severance policies that they follow and some employees have severance set forth in their employment agreements or offer letters. If not offered severance, employees may also ask whether the employer will offer severance in exchange for the employee signing a release of claims.

An exit interview is also a place for an employee to raise issues as to the reason the employee is departing. Some employees raise issues regarding workplace discrimination; retaliation; sexual harassment; failure to pay wages; impropriety in the workplace; etc. Employees may discuss the reason for their separation which may provide an employer insight into their business and may also provide insight as to whether the employee may raise employment related claims that could result in litigation. It is not unusual for the company to be documenting the employee’s response to questions posed about the workplace and whether the employee felt that he/she was treated properly. The employee may even be asked to sign a statement of what was discussed at the meeting.

In an exit interview and upon an employee’s departure, unless required by an agreement signed by the parties, the employee should not feel obligated to tell the former employer about new potential employment. There is generally no benefit for an employee to share this information with the old employer.