For California workers handed a layoff notice, a severance agreement or a deadline, including group layoffs, closures and relocations that came with little or no warning.
Five documents are inside. Turn each one over to see what California law says about it.
Inside: five documents, and what California law says about each one.
Inside the envelope
Five papers a layoff often comes with, what they tend to say, and what the law says back. Illustrative examples, not client documents.
Document 1 of 5
The layoff notice
Notice of layoffYour position will be eliminated effective this Friday.SignatureDate
The questionWas that enough notice?
What the law says
The layoff notice
If your workplace is a covered establishment (one that has employed 75 or more people in the past 12 months), California’s WARN Act generally requires 60 days’ written notice before a mass layoff of 50 or more people within 30 days, a relocation 100 miles or more away, or a closure.
No notice can mean back pay and benefits for each day of the violation, up to 60 days.
Lab. Code §§ 1400.5, 1401, 1402
Document 2 of 5
The severance agreement
Separation agreement & general releaseIn exchange for four weeks’ pay, Employee agrees to the terms below.SignatureDate
What you may hear“It’s standard. Everyone signs it.”
What the law says
The severance agreement
A California separation agreement must tell you that you have the right to consult a lawyer, and give you at least five business days to do it.
It also can’t stop you from discussing harassment, discrimination or other unlawful acts in the workplace.
Gov. Code § 12964.5
Document 3 of 5
The deadline
Sign by Friday.Clipped to the front of the agreement.
The questionIs Friday really the deadline?
What the law says
The deadline
Not necessarily. California’s minimum is five business days to consult a lawyer.
If you’re 40 or older and the release covers federal age claims, you get at least 21 days to consider it (45 in a group layoff) and 7 days to revoke after signing.
Gov. Code § 12964.5(b)(4); 29 U.S.C. § 626(f)
Document 4 of 5
The final paycheck
Final payYour final wages will be mailed with the next payroll.SignatureDate
The questionWhen is it actually due?
What the law says
The final paycheck
When you’re laid off without a set return date, your final wages are due immediately, on your last day, not the next payday.
If an employer willfully pays late, it can owe a penalty of up to 30 days’ wages.
Lab. Code §§ 201, 203
Document 5 of 5
The release of claims
General releaseEmployee releases the Company from any and all claims, known or unknown…SignatureDate
What you may hear“It’s just a formality.”
What the law says
The release of claims
Signing can give up claims you may have, such as discrimination, retaliation or wrongful termination, in exchange for the payment.
But an employer can’t require you to release wages that are due unless they’ve been paid.
Lab. Code § 206.5
Have us read the whole envelope
Send us what you were handed. We’ll tell you what it means, what it asks you to give up and whether the deadline is real. The review is free.
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You were handed a severance agreement with a short deadline to sign.
You were laid off with little or no notice.
Your plant, warehouse or office is closing or moving.
You’re 40 or older and part of a group layoff.
You’re being asked to sign away your claims for a few weeks’ pay.
Your final paycheck was late, short or never came.
You were told you can’t talk about the company or what happened there.
You were offered severance soon after you complained about something at work.
The law in plain English
What California law says about layoffs and severance
A layoff can be lawful and still come with rules: how much notice you get, when your last paycheck is due, how long you have to decide on a severance agreement, and what it can and can’t make you give up.
The WARN Act: 60 days’ notice
California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN) generally requires an employer to give 60 days’ written notice before a mass layoff, relocation or termination at a covered establishment. The notice goes to the affected employees and to the Employment Development Department, the local workforce development board and local elected officials.
If the notice wasn’t given
Each affected employee can recover back pay at their average regular rate over the last three years or their final rate, whichever is higher, plus the value of lost benefits, for each day of the violation. That runs up to 60 days, or half the number of days you worked there if that’s fewer. Wages and voluntary payments made for the same period can reduce it.
Lab. Code §§ 1401, 1402
Since January 1, 2026, a Cal-WARN notice must also say whether the employer will coordinate rapid response services through the local workforce board, describe CalFresh food assistance, and give an employer contact email and phone number. The 60 days and the thresholds didn’t change. Lab. Code § 1401 (SB 617)
Exceptions are narrow: a physical calamity or act of war; certain seasonal or project-based work; and, for closures and relocations only, an employer that was actively seeking money or business it reasonably believed notice would have cost it. Lab. Code §§ 1400.5(g), 1401(f), 1402.5
A separate civil penalty of not more than $500 a day can apply when an employer fails to notify the state and local agencies. It is a penalty, not money paid to workers. Lab. Code § 1403
A worker who wins a Cal-WARN case may be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees, and WARN money can’t be used to deny or reduce your unemployment benefits. Lab. Code §§ 1404, 1407
Does Cal-WARN cover your layoff?
1
The workplace
A covered establishment: an industrial or commercial facility that employs, or has employed in the past 12 months, 75 or more people.
2
The event
A mass layoff of 50 or more employees there within any 30 days, for lack of funds or work; a relocation of all or substantially all operations 100 miles or more away; or a termination, meaning operations stop or substantially stop.
3
You
You worked for the employer for at least 6 of the 12 months before notice was due.
Lab. Code § 1400.5
Whether a particular layoff is covered can depend on the facts, such as how the workforce is counted. We can check yours. Read our Cal-WARN guide
California WARN and the federal WARN Act
Point
California (Cal-WARN)
Federal WARN
Who’s covered
A covered establishment that has employed 75 or more people in the past 12 months
Employers with 100 or more employees, not counting part-time workers
Layoff size
50 or more employees in 30 days, with no percentage test
50 or more and at least a third of the site, or 500 or more; 50 or more for a plant closing
Relocations
A move of 100 miles or more is covered
No separate relocation rule
“Unforeseeable business circumstances”
Not an exception
Can shorten the notice
Notice and back pay
60 days’ notice; up to 60 days of back pay and benefits
60 days’ notice; up to 60 days of back pay and benefits
Lab. Code §§ 1400.5–1404; 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101, 2102, 2104. A single layoff can fall under one law, both or neither.
Severance agreements in California
An employer offering a separation agreement must tell you that you have the right to consult a lawyer about it and give you at least five business days to do so. You can choose to sign sooner, but you can’t be pressured into it with threats or better terms for signing early.
The agreement can’t stop you from disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, and any non-disparagement clause must say so in these words:
“Nothing in this agreement prevents you from discussing or disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, such as harassment or discrimination or any other conduct that you have reason to believe is unlawful.”
The amount of your severance can still be kept confidential.
Gov. Code § 12964.5
If you’re 40 or older
A release of federal age discrimination claims must be in plain language, mention the federal age law by name, not waive future claims, give you something you weren’t already owed, and advise you in writing to see a lawyer.
You get at least 21 days to consider it, 45 days in a group layoff or exit program, and 7 days after signing to change your mind. In a group program, the employer must tell you in writing who was covered, the eligibility factors, and the job titles and ages of the people selected and not selected.
Your employer can’t require you to sign a release of wages that are due unless those wages have been paid. A release like that is void. Your final paycheck is owed whether or not you sign a severance agreement.
When you’re laid off without a set return date in the same pay period, your final wages are due immediately. If an employer willfully pays them late, it can owe a waiting-time penalty of up to 30 days’ wages.
Lab. Code §§ 201, 203, 206.5
Non-competes are generally void
In California, a non-compete clause in employment is generally void, with narrow exceptions such as the sale of a business. An employer can’t enforce one even if it was signed in another state, and employers had to tell affected current and former workers in writing that their non-competes are void.
Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 16600, 16600.1, 16600.5
The clocks that matter
60days’ noticeWritten notice before a covered mass layoff, relocation or closureLab. Code § 1401
5business daysAt least this long to consult a lawyer about a separation agreementGov. Code § 12964.5
21–45days, if 40+To consider a release of age claims (45 in a group layoff)29 U.S.C. § 626(f)
7days, if 40+To revoke that release after signing29 U.S.C. § 626(f)
Last dayfinal pay dueFinal wages due immediately on a layoff without a set return dateLab. Code § 201
Deadlines to bring claims also apply and vary by claim. Don’t wait to get advice.
What you can recover
What’s at stake before you sign
A severance offer is a trade. Before you accept it, it helps to know what you may already be owed and what you’d be giving up.
WARN back pay and benefits
If a covered layoff came without the required notice, up to 60 days of back pay and the value of lost benefits, including medical costs a plan would have covered.
Final pay and waiting-time penalties
All wages owed at layoff, and if they were willfully paid late, a penalty of up to 30 days’ wages. These are owed without signing anything.
The claims a release would give up
A general release can end claims you may not have weighed yet, such as:
Age or other discrimination in who was chosen
Retaliation for a complaint or leave
Wrongful termination
Unpaid wages that are genuinely in dispute
A better severance
In our experience, severance is often negotiable, especially when the release covers real legal risk. Terms that sometimes move include the number of weeks, paid health coverage, the reference you’ll get, and how the non-disparagement clause reads. No outcome is guaranteed, and every offer is different.
No attorney’s fee and no case costs unless we recover money for you. If we do, our fee is a percentage of the recovery, and the case costs we advanced are repaid from your share — all set out in your written fee agreement.
What to gather
Keep everything that came in the envelope
You don’t need all of it to call us. Save what you have, and don’t sign or return anything yet.
Once we take your case, you can upload these securely in your client app, so your documents and your case team stay in one place.
The severance agreement and every attachmentIncluding any list of job titles and ages for a group layoff.
The layoff notice, and the date you got itNote how many people were let go and at which location, if you know.
The deadline you were givenAn email, a note or a calendar invite: anything that shows the date.
Your offer letter and employee handbookLook for any severance policy or promise.
Your final pay stubAnd the date you actually received your final pay.
Emails and messages about the layoffForward them to a personal account only if your employer’s policies allow it.
Any complaint you made before the layoffTo HR, a manager or an agency, with dates.
Results
Results in related cases
These are not severance or WARN Act cases. They are wrongful termination results from cases handled by our attorneys.
Combined recoveries in cases handled by our attorneys including employment and injury matters. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
FAQ
Questions people ask after a layoff
Short answers. Every agreement is different, so the free review is the real answer.
Should I sign my severance agreement?
Not before someone reviews it. Signing can release claims you may have, in exchange for the payment. California requires the employer to tell you that you can consult a lawyer and to give you at least five business days to do so. Use that time.
How long do I have to sign a severance agreement in California?
At least five business days under California law. If you’re 40 or older and the agreement releases federal age claims, you get at least 21 days to consider it, or 45 days in a group layoff or exit program, plus 7 days to revoke after you sign. A deadline like “sign by Friday” may be shorter than the law allows.
Can I negotiate severance?
Often, yes. Employers sometimes improve an offer when the release covers real legal risk, or when an agreement misses a legal requirement. Terms that may move include the amount, paid health coverage, references and confidentiality language. Nothing is guaranteed, and asking is not the same as rejecting the offer.
What is the California WARN Act?
It’s California’s layoff notice law. A covered establishment, one that has employed 75 or more people in the past 12 months, generally must give 60 days’ written notice before a mass layoff of 50 or more employees within 30 days, a relocation 100 miles or more away, or a closure. The federal WARN Act has its own, different thresholds.
What if I was laid off without notice?
If the layoff was covered by the WARN Act and the employer didn’t give the required notice, you may be owed back pay and the value of lost benefits for each day of the violation, up to 60 days. Separately, your final wages were due immediately. Check the California Layoff Tracker to see whether your employer filed a notice.
Can I get unemployment if I take severance?
Taking severance doesn’t automatically disqualify you. EDD’s own guidance says severance pay under a company plan or policy is not wages for unemployment purposes, and California law says payments for an employer’s WARN Act violation can’t be used to deny or reduce your benefits. Some payments, such as certain pay in place of notice, can be treated differently. Report every payment to EDD honestly; EDD decides each claim. More on unemployment after a job loss
Can a severance agreement stop me from talking?
It can ask you to keep the amount confidential, and it can include a non-disparagement clause. But it can’t stop you from discussing harassment, discrimination or other conduct you reasonably believe is unlawful, and the clause has to say so in writing.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every situation is different; talk to a lawyer about yours.
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