I'm an employment law attorney. Here are the 3 steps you should take if you're offered a buyout like Microsoft's.

Craig Levey, an employment law attorney, shares the three things employees should do if offered a buyout. Craig Levey

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Craig Levey, an employment law attorney and partner at Bennett & Belfort, P.C., based in Boston. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

When companies offer employees buyouts — like Microsoft did last week to around 60,000 employees — those employees have a decision to make.

Speaking generally, a buyout offer can be a decent thing to happen to an employee if they were planning on leaving the company in the short term, such as retiring or quitting to go to another job.…