Laid off? Read the paper before you sign it.

You were let go. Now they want your signature.

A severance agreement is a trade: the company offers money, and in exchange you give up your right to ever challenge how your job ended. It arrives in a short meeting, on the worst day of your year, with a deadline. This site counts your real deadline — 21 or 45 days under federal law if you are 40 or older — translates every clause into plain words, and checks the paperwork the law requires. No upload. We never ask for the agreement itself; you type four facts and the math happens in your browser.

Count my deadline — free See the $49 Kit

Not a law firm. Not legal advice. Information and checklists, built from the statute itself — 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) — so you can ask better questions, including of a lawyer when you need one.

One question this site does not answer: whether the amount itself is fair for your role. That quick benchmark check — your offer scored against what similar roles get — lives at our sister site, SeveranceVerdict. This site does the paper: your deadline, your clauses, the group layoff list.

Your deadline, counted

Companies write a date in the letter. The law writes a different one. If you are 40 or older, federal law (the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, inside the age-discrimination law) guarantees you days to think it over (the consideration period), and 7 days after signing to change your mind (revocation) — and the company cannot shorten either one or talk you out of them.

The severance deadline checker

Four facts. No upload, nothing leaves your browser — we never ask for the agreement itself.

The federal deadline rules protect workers 40 and up. Under-40 rules depend on your state — the checker handles both.
If two or more people were let go under the same program, pick group — the clock and the paperwork both change.
Every clock counts from this day. If you are not sure, use the date on the letter or the email that carried it.
STEP 1The roomYou are handed the paper in a short meeting. Nothing has to be signed that day.
STEP 2The clockThe law may give you 21 or 45 days to think it over — counted, not guessed.
STEP 3The readEvery clause translated into plain words.
STEP 4The checkThe paperwork audit — including the group layoff list.
STEP 5The askMore money, better dates, narrower limits — asked for properly.
STEP 6The signOr not. Both are decisions; make yours on purpose.
STEP 7AfterYour 7 days to change your mind, your last paycheck, your benefits.

Why people get this wrong

The date in the letter is not always the deadline

If you are 40 or older, the law's count controls: 21 days for an individual agreement, 45 days if you were let go as part of a group. A letter saying "sign within 10 days" does not erase the statute — and if the company changed the terms mid-window, the clock restarts.

Group layoffs come with a list

In a group layoff, the law requires a disclosure: the job titles and ages of everyone picked, and the ages of everyone in the same group who was not picked. Sloppy or missing lists are the most common serious defect in these agreements — and almost nobody checks. The kit's audit walks it line by line.

The first offer is a draft

Severance terms move — money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, the words in your reference. Companies expect a fraction of people to ask; the asking is free, and the worst answer is the one you already have.

First, the money question: is the amount itself fair?

This site reads the paper — your real deadline, every clause in plain words, the group layoff list. It does not score the amount against what people in your role usually get. Our sister site, SeveranceVerdict, does exactly that: a free checker that compares your offer to the going benchmarks for your role and years of service, and gives you a straight verdict — below market, at market, or strong.

Run the free fairness checker at SeveranceVerdict · Visit SeveranceVerdict

Before you sign, run the whole paper

Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit

  • The clause-by-clause decoder — every clause in plain words: what it means, what to look for, the exact questions to raise
  • The paperwork audit (the legal checklist) — every item the law names for workers 40+, checked against your documents
  • The group layoff list audit (Exhibit A) — titles and ages of who was picked and who was not, checked line by line. No other tool does this
  • The negotiation playbook — what companies actually move on (money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, your reference) and the words that move them
  • Ready-to-send scripts: asking for more time, asking for changes, and the change-your-mind letter (revocation)
  • The red-flag page — the short list of facts that mean a lawyer's paid hour is worth it, and how to find one who does this daily
Get the SeveranceDecoded Kit — $49

One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.

The questions everyone asks

How long do I have to sign a severance agreement?

If you are 40 or older: 21 days for an individual agreement, 45 days if you were part of a group layoff — federal law, counted from the day the final terms were handed to you. A real change to the terms restarts the count. Under 40, no federal clock applies, though a few states set their own (California and New York among them). The full explanation.

Can I negotiate my severance?

Yes — and people do, every day. The movable items are usually money, your last-day date, stock and bonus treatment, the non-compete, and your reference. The playbook in the kit covers what moves and the words that move it. Start here.

I already signed. Is it too late?

Maybe not. If you are 40 or older, you have 7 days after signing to change your mind (revocation), and the agreement is not effective until they run out. Paperwork that failed the law's requirements raises further questions — ones an employment attorney should hear. Run the checker above with your signing date.

What does a lawyer charge to review a severance agreement?

Flat-fee reviews run from about $350 to $1,950 depending on the city and the package size, with $750 a common middle. The kit costs $49 and covers the read, the audit, and the negotiation for people whose situations do not need a lawyer — and its red-flag page tells you honestly when yours does. The price survey.

Do you need to see my agreement?

No. Nothing on this site asks you to upload the agreement — it is a confidential document, and our tools are built to work from four facts you type yourself: your age bracket, solo or group, the handover date, and whether the terms changed.

Every rule on this site carries its citation. Start with the statute: 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) and the EEOC's own explainer, Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements.