[happenstance]

I don't really know what you mean by "settlement". There's no settlement that I know of when you get fired in the USA.

Here, a "settlement" is something you might get if you were to sue someone for something and the court awarded you money.

[biafra]

My bad english. I meant severance pay. I was still talking about Germany.

[happenstance]

Ah. In the states, you only get severance if you're laid off. If you're fired, I don't think there's any severance pay involved.

Also, in the states, if you're laid off, you can apply for "unemployment benefits" from the state. If you're fired, you cannot.