State file — Minnesota
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Minnesota, 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.
YES — state rescission right, but narrow in scope and NOT at the section number guessed in the assignment: a waiver or release of rights/remedies under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (ch. 363A) covering acts/practices prior to or concurrent with execution may be RESCINDED WITHIN 15 CALENDAR DAYS of execution. The releasing party must be informed in writing of the right to rescind; rescission must be in writing and delivered by hand, electronically with the recipient's consent, or by mail (postmarked within the 15 days, properly addressed, certified mail return receipt requested). EXCEPTION: a waiver/release given in settlement of a claim already filed with the Department of Human Rights, another administrative agency, or a judicial body is valid and final on execution — no rescission period. The statute also voids any waiver of MHRA claims arising from acts occurring AFTER execution. It is not a general severance-agreement clock for non-MHRA claims.
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Minnesota's clock together and gives you the dates.
FULL BAN confirmed: 'Any covenant not to compete contained in a contract or agreement is void and unenforceable.' The only exceptions are a covenant agreed (1) during the sale of a business (temporary, geographically restricted, reasonable) or (2) in anticipation of dissolution of a partnership/LLC/corporation. The ban does NOT cover nondisclosure agreements or non-solicitation agreements. Employee includes independent contractors. An employee enforcing rights under the section may recover reasonable attorney fees. Law effective July 1, 2023, applying to contracts/agreements entered into on or after that date (applicability date per secondary sources; the void rule itself is verbatim in the official text).
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.
When an employer discharges an employee, wages and commissions actually earned and unpaid at discharge are immediately due and payable UPON THE EMPLOYEE'S WRITTEN DEMAND, and must be paid within 24 HOURS after that demand or the employer is in default (penalty: average daily earnings per day of default, up to 15 days).
Unused vacation: Section 181.13 by its terms covers wages/commissions 'actually earned and unpaid'; it does not itself create a vacation entitlement — vacation promised by contract/policy is treated as earned wages, but no separate vacation text was verified in the statute excerpts reviewed.
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.
Minnesota 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.
Back to severance laws by state · the deadline checker