A layoff turns income off and bills on. The first 30 days decide whether you stay stable: order the money, stretch severance, and lock the cash flow before the emotional decisions. This is the sequence that keeps your credit, insurance, and options intact.
Order the Money (30-Day Sequence)
- Confirm severance terms and label. The wording changes unemployment math (see the severance scripts guide). Ask for the COBRA subsidy months in writing.
- File unemployment day one. Benefits start at filing, not at layoff — see the unemployment guide. Partial weeks matter.
- Minimum payments first. Keep mortgage, auto, and utilities at minimums to protect credit while you search. Do not drain savings to overpay debt.
- Insurance choice: compare COBRA premiums (full cost, 18 months) vs ACA marketplace (income-sensitive subsidies — a mid-year income drop usually wins, healthcare.gov). The 60-day COBRA window is from coverage end, not layoff.
Budget the Runway
Runway = severance + unemployment + savings − fixed burn. Write the monthly number. Then set search cadence: 10 targeted applications + 10 warm outreach per week (see the networking system) — a job search is the expense that pays you back.
Protected Assets
401(k): do not raid it — loans and early withdrawals destroy the balance and cost penalty + tax (see the rollover guide). Equity: know the exercise window before cash decisions (see the AMT guide). FSA balances are use-it-before-termination: the last day is the deadline (see the exit checklist).
Rule windows that move the first 30 days
Three windows decide layoff cash flow. The unemployment window: benefits start at filing, not at the layoff date, so file on day one. The insurance window: federal COBRA gives 60 days to elect from the date coverage ends, and a marketplace special-enrollment window is the same 60 days, so compare the COBRA quote against a subsidized plan inside one window. The severance window: some states divide severance across weeks at your weekly wage and bar benefits for the covered weeks, so the label and the payment structure change the cash math — confirm the offset rule with the state agency.
Final pay follows the state window, not the company's pay calendar. See the final-paycheck calculator and the COBRA cost calculator before you choose between COBRA and the marketplace.
What to document before you act
Order the paper in the first week, before the emotional decisions:
- The separation letter stating layoff or position elimination, with the notice date and the last day. The wording is the unemployment gate.
- The severance agreement with the release terms, the repayment clause, the payment schedule, and the reference-letter language.
- The benefits end date and the COBRA election paperwork, with the coverage end date written down. The 60-day window runs from that date.
- The final paystub with year-to-date gross and deductions, plus the FSA balance and the forfeiture date. FSA balances are use-it-before-termination.
Numbers you should get in writing
Write the runway as one arithmetic line: severance weeks + unemployment weeks + savings − fixed monthly burn. The severance weeks come from the formula (weeks per year of service), the unemployment weeks from the state offset rule, and the burn from the fixed bills. Ask for the severance schedule in writing: a lump sum and a monthly stream read differently in most states, and the monthly stream can suspend benefit weeks. Confirm the treatment with the state agency before signing.
Then the protected numbers: the 401(k) vested balance, the option exercise window, and the FSA spend-down deadline. Do not raid the 401(k) for runway: a loan offset at separation runs a 60-day rollover clock that turns the offset into a taxable distribution if the window is missed.
Scripts and wording
Ask for the money structure in the first meeting, not in the last:
"I need the package in writing before I sign: the severance formula, the payment schedule, the number of COBRA months the company pays, and the separation wording. Can you confirm the label is layoff, not resignation, and send the schedule with dates?"
The same wording, reused in the claim, keeps the record consistent. Write the response letter with the layoff response generator, keep the follow-up week in the application tracker, and file the weekly certification with the same facts you used in the first statement.
| State | Final-pay window | Where to confirm |
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| California | Fired: pay is due at the time of termination. Quit with 72 hours of notice: due at quitting. Quit without notice: within 72 hours. | California DIR wage FAQs |
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| Minnesota | Fired: wages are due on written demand, and the employer must pay within 24 hours or owe a daily penalty (up to 15 days). | Minnesota Statutes §181.13 |
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| Texas | Final pay is due within 6 days of your last day, quit or fired. | Texas Workforce Commission (Payday Law) |
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| Michigan | Fired: within 10 days. Quit: within 30 days. | Michigan Wage & Hour Division |
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| Pennsylvania | All wages are due within 30 days of the last day worked. PTO is paid per your policy, plan, or CBA at separation. | Pennsylvania Wage Payment & Collection Law |
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| Illinois | Final pay is due on the next regular payday, whether you quit or are fired. | Illinois General Assembly (Wage Payment & Collection Act) |
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For the current text behind these numbers, start with the California Mini-WARN rule page and the Illinois Mini-WARN rule page, along with the Mini-WARN Law definition and the resignation exit guide hub. Those sources state the rule in full; this page only points at them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Lump sum or monthly severance?
- A lump sum is clean. Monthly severance can be allocated across weeks and suspend benefit weeks in many states. Confirm the treatment with the state agency before signing.
- When do unemployment benefits start?
- At filing, not at layoff. Register with the weekly job-search duty the same week, and keep the certification wording identical to the first statement.
- Is COBRA the only insurance option?
- No. A marketplace special enrollment window is also 60 days from the coverage end date, and an income drop usually makes the subsidized plan cheaper than full-cost COBRA.
- What is the FSA deadline?
- The last day worked is the practical deadline for eligible items. Order claims before your access ends and keep receipts.
- Severance paid monthly vs lump sum?
- Lump sum is clean; monthly severance can suspend unemployment weeks. Confirm how your state treats it before signing.
- Emergency fund rule?
- Layoff turns 3-month reserves into 1.5-month. Cut discretionary first, keep insurance and housing, then debt minimums. Order matters more than total.
Sources (official record — verify before filing)
US DOL WARN Act + IRS severance rules