1.   Apple declined to give details yesterday about the severance benefits it would offer to permanent employees.

2.   Asked why the board set up a severance benefit, which now totals several hundnred thousand dollars, Ms. Procope said it was to encourage him to stay.

3.   African-Americans now can receive enhanced severance benefits and become members of a class action.

4.   All employees will be paid through the end of October, in addition to their normal severance benefits, which range from two weeks to one year of pay.

5.   But Coca-Cola said it is merely following standard operating procedure of giving increased severance benefits to limit its future exposure in litigation.

6.   Deutsch pointed out that laid-off employees will receive regular severance benefits without signing a release form.

7.   Employment experts also said it is common for companies to offer enhanced severance benefits to eliminate future legal problems.

8.   Employment experts said it is common for companies to offer enhanced severance benefits in exchange for eliminating future legal problems through a release form.

9.   Firms offer severance benefits out of a combination of charitable and hard-nosed motives, the survey found.

10.   For non-union employees, no specific severance benefit is required, Harper said.