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This week’s article is going to focus on a topic that is not specific to the IT industry but nevertheless important for all employees: what happens if you’re laid off. Full disclosure: I’ve been laid off before. It’s was a very disorientating process, especially since I had no advance warning that it was going to happen. After it was all said and done, there are several things I wish I would have done differently if I was prepared ahead of time.

That are many questions that will be swirling when you lose your job. Was my termination legal? What are my rights and options if I don’t think it was legal? Can I negotiate my severance package? Can my employer contest my unemployment? While it’s true that in the US, employees have few labor protections, you may have more options than you think with regards to severance and potential legal options you can take against your former employer.

Note that none of the content below constitutes legal advice. Also, the information below is largely applicable to the US and may or may not be accurate in your jurisdiction. Labor laws vary significantly by state and country; always talk to an attorney if you have specific legal questions.

One of the first documents many laid-off employees receive is a severance agreement. A company may offer several weeks or months of salary, continued benefits, accelerated vesting, or other compensation in exchange for signing the agreement. The important point is that severance agreements often require employees to give something up in return.

For example, an agreement may contain a broad release of legal claims against the employer. It may also include confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation, non-solicitation, or other provisions that continue after employment ends. Employees should therefore avoid viewing severance as simply a final paycheck.

Read the agreement carefully and identify exactly what rights you are being asked to waive. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recommends considering attorney review before signing a severance agreement, particularly when an employee believes discrimination or another violation may have occurred.

Severance can sometimes also be negotiated. Depending on the employee's position and circumstances, negotiation points might include additional severance pay, continued health insurance premiums, treatment of bonuses or commissions, stock-option exercise periods, references, non-disparagement language, or the removal of restrictive provisions. You may want to consider speaking with a lawyer to help negotiate your severance on your behalf.

Employees age 40 and older receive additional protections when employers ask them to waive potential age-discrimination claims. Under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, a valid waiver of Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims generally must clearly identify the rights being waived, advise the employee in writing to consult an attorney, and provide sufficient time to evaluate the agreement.

An individual generally must receive at least 21 days to consider such an agreement and seven days after signing to revoke it. In certain group termination or reduction-in-force programs, employees generally receive at least 45 days to consider the agreement.

Group layoffs may also trigger disclosure requirements concerning the employees considered for the termination program, including information about the ages and job titles of employees selected and not selected. Those disclosures can be particularly important when determining whether a layoff disproportionately affected older employees.

Companies can generally eliminate positions because of declining revenue, restructuring, automation, mergers, shifting business priorities, or similar legitimate reasons. They cannot, however, use a layoff as a cover for unlawful discrimination. Federal employment laws prohibit covered employers from making layoff decisions because of protected characteristics including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, and, for workers 40 and older, age. One employee being laid off does not necessarily establish discrimination. Patterns and surrounding circumstances matter.

Suppose a department includes employees ranging in age from 25 to 65, but almost everyone selected for termination is over 50 despite having similar performance records. That does not automatically prove age discrimination, but it could justify closer examination. Similarly, employees might have concerns if almost everyone belonging to a particular protected group was selected for termination while similarly situated workers outside that group were retained.

Employees who believe discrimination occurred may be able to file a charge with the EEOC or an applicable state or local agency. Because filing deadlines apply, workers who seriously suspect discrimination should investigate their options promptly.

Retaliation presents another possible legal issue. An employer generally cannot lay off an employee because that employee exercised certain legally protected rights. For example, federal discrimination laws prohibit retaliation against employees because they reported discrimination, filed an EEOC charge, participated in an employment-discrimination investigation, or otherwise opposed discriminatory conduct in a legally protected manner. There are also a patchwork of federal and state whistleblower protection laws that protect employees who report certain types of wrongdoing.

Timing is crucial in retaliation cases. An employee who receives strong performance reviews for years, reports potentially unlawful conduct, and is suddenly included in a small layoff shortly afterward may want an attorney to examine the circumstances. Again, timing alone does not prove retaliation. The employer may have legitimate reasons for the termination. But employees should preserve emails, performance reviews, complaints, organizational charts, and other lawful records that could help establish what occurred.

Large layoffs and facility closures may trigger the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, commonly known as the WARN Act. Generally, the WARN Act requires certain employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 calendar days of advance written notice before qualifying plant closings or mass layoffs. Different thresholds, exclusions, and exceptions apply depending on the circumstances. Exceptions can apply for situations such as unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disasters, and certain financially troubled companies.

Employees should also check state law. Some states have their own versions of WARN laws—sometimes called "mini-WARN" laws—which may apply to smaller companies or smaller layoffs than federal law.

If an employer should have provided advance notice but failed to do so, affected employees may potentially have claims for compensation.

For many workers, unemployment insurance is the most immediate source of financial assistance following a layoff. Unemployment is administered through state programs, so eligibility requirements and benefit levels vary. Generally, however, workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own because their employer eliminated their job may qualify if they meet their state's earnings and employment requirements. Employees should usually apply as soon as possible after the layoff rather than waiting for severance money to run out. If an unemployment claim is denied, workers typically have the right to appeal the decision.

The treatment of severance payments also differs by state. Receiving severance does not necessarily eliminate eligibility for unemployment, although it may affect when benefits begin or how much an employee receives.

Losing employer-sponsored health insurance can be one of the biggest concerns after a layoff. Under the federal COBRA law, eligible employees and their families may temporarily continue coverage under their former employer's group health plan. COBRA generally applies when the employer has at least 20 employees and meets other requirements. Coverage commonly can continue for up to 18 months after job loss, although certain circumstances allow longer periods. Employees usually have to pay the entire premium themselves, making COBRA significantly more expensive than employer-subsidized coverage.

Employees may also qualify for special enrollment in a spouse's employer-sponsored health plan or purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace. Comparing these options before automatically electing COBRA can potentially save substantial amounts of money.

A layoff does not eliminate an employer's obligation to pay compensation an employee has already earned. Employees should review their final paycheck and determine whether it correctly includes outstanding wages, overtime, commissions, expense reimbursements, bonuses, or other earned compensation. Federal law does not generally require employers to issue the final paycheck immediately after termination, although state laws may require payment sooner.

Treatment of unused vacation or paid time off also depends heavily on state law and the employer's policies. Some jurisdictions treat accrued vacation as earned wages, while others provide employers more flexibility.

Employees should also review what happens to retirement accounts, stock options, restricted stock units, deferred compensation, and other benefits. Vesting rules can make the date of termination particularly important.

Although many American workers are employed "at will," some employees have additional contractual protections. An employment agreement might guarantee severance, require advance notice, establish a specific termination procedure, or limit the circumstances under which an employee may be terminated.

Union employees should review their collective bargaining agreement as well. It may contain rules governing seniority, layoffs, recalls, bumping rights, severance, benefits, and grievance procedures. If an employer failed to follow an applicable contract, the employee may have contractual remedies even when the layoff would otherwise have been lawful.

Most layoffs do not result in lawsuits. Companies routinely eliminate legitimate positions during restructurings and economic downturns. However, certain warning signs justify closer scrutiny. Consider consulting an employment attorney if you believe you were targeted because of a protected characteristic, laid off shortly after reporting illegal conduct, denied compensation you earned, terminated in violation of a contract, denied required WARN notice, or pressured to immediately sign a complicated severance agreement.

An attorney can evaluate something that is difficult for an employee to determine alone: whether the facts merely feel unfair or potentially violate the law. That distinction matters because employment law generally does not prohibit every unfair business decision. It prohibits specific conduct defined by federal, state, and local laws.

The days immediately following a layoff can be overwhelming, but employees should resist the temptation to sign every document simply to get the process over with. Start by collecting employment records you are legally entitled to retain, including your severance agreement, compensation information, benefit documents, performance reviews, and relevant communications. Apply for unemployment promptly, investigate health insurance alternatives, and verify that your final compensation is accurate. Most importantly, carefully review anything that requires you to waive legal claims.

A layoff may simply be an unfortunate business decision. But when discrimination, retaliation, unpaid compensation, contractual violations, or inadequate notice are involved, employees may have meaningful legal options. Understanding those options before signing a separation agreement can make the difference between walking away from valuable rights and protecting them.