State file — Alabama
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Alabama, three state rules shape your negotiation: when your last paycheck must arrive, whether a non-compete can follow you to your next job, and what notice a layoff required. If you are 40 or older, the federal clocks (21 or 45 days, plus 7 days to change your mind after signing) apply on top of everything here.
Federal rule only - no Alabama state law giving time to consider or revoke a severance/settlement agreement was found.
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Alabama's clock together and gives you the dates.
Restrictive covenants are void by default, but an employee non-compete is allowed to preserve a protectable interest (trade secrets, customer relationships, specialised training), in writing and signed, with reasonable time/place limits. Restraints of 2 years or less are presumed reasonable for an employee covenant; 18 months for customer non-solicitation; 1 year for sale of goodwill. No earnings threshold. Pre-existing professional exemptions (e.g. physicians, lawyers) are preserved by Ala. Code 8-1-196.
Why it matters at the exit table: a non-compete you sign on the way out can matter more than the severance check. If the clause would block your next job, narrowing it is one of the most common — and most granted — negotiation asks.
No state final-paycheck law. No state deadline for a discharged or laid-off employee; in practice final wages are paid on the next regular payday under the federal FLSA baseline / employer schedule.
Unused vacation: No statute treats accrued vacation as wages due at separation; payout is governed by employer policy / contract (secondary sources).
Final pay is owed whether or not you sign anything. If the date passes without your money, your state labor agency takes these complaints — and many states add penalties for every day of delay.
Alabama has no state layoff-notice law of its own, so the federal WARN Act is the rule: employers with 100+ workers generally owe 60 days' notice of a plant closing or mass layoff (50+ jobs at one site).
Notice failures have their own remedies (back pay for each day of missed notice, in the federal law's case) — separate from the severance agreement, and worth a question if your layoff was large and sudden.
Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.
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