State file — New York
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In New York, 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.
State clock exists but is NARROW — it is NOT a general severance clock. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-336 (as amended effective Nov. 17, 2023) applies only to a settlement/agreement resolving a claim whose factual foundation involves discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, and only to its confidentiality (non-disclosure) term: such a term is allowed only if confidentiality is the complainant's preference; the term must be given in writing in plain English (and the complainant's primary language if applicable); the complainant has UP TO 21 days to consider it (waivable for pre-litigation settlements since the 2023 amendment — previously a full non-waivable 21 days); if confidentiality is the preference it is memorialized in a signed agreement; and the complainant has at least 7 days after signing to revoke, with the agreement ineffective until that period expires. § 5-336(3) also makes a discrimination-claim release unenforceable if it imposes liquidated damages or forfeiture for breaching an NDA/non-disparagement clause, or requires the complainant to state they were not discriminated against. A general severance agreement with no discrimination-claim confidentiality clause gets NO state clock — federal OWBPA only. (For settlements of FILED litigation, CPLR § 5003-b still imposes a full, non-waivable 21-day period for discrimination NDAs — secondary.) PENDING, NOT LAW: the 'No Severance Ultimatums Act' (S372A/A6480, proposed Lab. Law § 215-d) would extend 21 days to consider + 7 days to revoke + written attorney-consult notice to ALL severance agreements releasing waivable claims; it passed the legislature in the 2026 session and was awaiting the Governor's signature as of Aug.–Sep. 2026 reports — verify signature status before publishing.
New York also sets its own clock: New York law gives 21 days to consider an agreement with confidentiality terms covering discrimination claims. Note: since November 2023 this state period can be waived in writing before any lawsuit is filed — the 7-day change-your-mind window cannot. 21 days to consider. The checker applies it automatically — the later of your two dates is the safer one to work to.
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and New York's clock together and gives you the dates.
NO ban. The legislature passed a near-total ban (S3100A) in June 2023, but Gov. Hochul VETOED it on Dec. 22, 2023 as an overbroad 'one-size-fits-all' approach, so non-competes remain enforceable under the common-law reasonableness test: necessary to protect a legitimate business interest (trade secrets, confidential information, customer goodwill), reasonable in time and geographic scope, no undue hardship on the employee, and not harmful to the public. A narrower 2025 successor bill (S4641, ~$500,000 compensation threshold) passed the Senate in June 2025 but was not enacted as of this research — do not present any NY threshold as law.
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.
A terminated (fired, laid off, or quit) employee must be paid all remaining wages no later than the regular payday for the pay period in which the termination occurred; if the employee requests it, the employer must mail the final wages. No same-day/immediate-payment rule.
Unused vacation: No statute requires vacation payout; accrued, unused vacation is owed only as a wage supplement if the employer's policy, agreement, or practice provides for it — but if the employer has no clear written forfeiture policy communicated to employees, accrued vacation must be paid (NY DOL position / Glenville Gage line).
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.
New York has its own layoff-notice law (a mini-WARN law): New York WARN Act: private employers with 50+ employees excluding part-time employees (or 50+ employees working 2,000+ aggregate hours/week) must give 90 days' written notice before: a plant closing (shutdown of a single site/facility causing employment loss for 25+ employees in 30 days); a mass layoff (25+ employees if they are at least 33% of the site workforce, or 250+ employees, in 30 days);…
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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