Regarding: Employment Separation Agreement and General Release My employment ended May 26, 2009; involuntarily termination

Kim: Not likely. You should contact the local office of the state employment security agency to file for unemployment benefits as soon as possible. Whether the release that you signed would prevent you from collecting benefits from your former employer may depend upon Texas state law. Many states expressly state in their statutory provisions that a release of employment claims will not preclude one from obtaining unemployment benefits to which an employee may otherwise be entitled to receive. Whether Texas has addressed this issue is not something that I can advise you on. If you had an attorney review your separation agreement prior to your signing it, you should raise this issue with him or her. If you did not employ an attorney prior to signing the separation and release agreement, and you cannot afford to do so, you can contact the state or city local bar association for a referral. Often the separation agreement itself will expressly exclude from waiver any rights that you may have to seek unemployment benefits in the future. If you are comfortable reading (and understanding) the legalese language used in such agreements, you may want to review it now. It may help you answer your question.