A severance package is an agreement between an employer and a departing employee, usually due to a layoff. Officially, there is no such thing as "typical severance pay" since severance packages are not mandated by federal, state, or local law. However, businesses which offer severance packages use similar guidelines, albeit the fact that they may vary in many ways. For instance, most severances payments are based upon the time an employee has worked for the company, his job title, and other related factors. Many companies give one week's severance pay for every year served, or some similar formula. However, actual performance may be a factor that affects how much severance pay an employee gets. Others offer stock options or bonuses, usually upon conditions of not divulging trade secrets to competitors. If an employee is not satisfied with the severance package presented to him, he may seek legal counsel.