Severance Ledger editorial desk
Employment Law Desk
Severance and US employment law
The Employment Law Desk covers the legal frameworks around severance: federal statutes including the WARN Act, ADEA, OWBPA, FMLA, PDA, ADA, and ERISA, plus the state-level overlays that shape how severance interacts with anti-discrimination, family-leave, and disability protections.
This desk explains how those rules apply to common situations: being laid off while on FMLA leave, during pregnancy, after a performance improvement plan, or as part of a WARN-covered mass termination. Coverage also includes comparison pieces (severance vs. wages-in-lieu-of-notice, severance vs. garden leave) and federal/public-sector severance (FERS, CSRS, VSIP, military separation pay), where the rules differ substantially from private-sector practice.
Severance Ledger does not provide legal advice and its writers are not acting as your attorneys; the content is informational only. Readers facing termination, retaliation, or discrimination concerns should consult an employment attorney licensed in their state.
Editorial focus areas
- WARN, ADEA, OWBPA, FMLA, PDA, ADA, ERISA
- Severance + pregnancy / FMLA
- Severance + PIP / fired for cause
- Federal & public-sector severance
Articles from the Employment Law Desk
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PIP or Severance 2026: What Each Path Actually Costs
Offered a performance improvement plan or an exit package, and asked to pick one? The paths diverge on cash, unvested equity, unemployment treatment and the record left behind. The factors that separate them in 2026, and why the choice is usually narrower than it looks.
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Severance After a PIP 2026: Do You Get Paid, and How Much?
Most PIP separations are treated as performance terminations rather than for-cause, so severance is usually still paid, commonly 50 to 75% of the standard formula. Where that line sits, what ADEA and OWBPA add for workers over 40, and when the PIP documentation itself looks pretextual.
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401(k) Rollover Traps After a Layoff 2026: Edge Cases That Cost Five Figures
An indirect rollover turns a $100,000 401(k) into an $80,000 check and a 60-day deadline. A catalogue of the separation mistakes that cost five figures: the 20% withholding shortfall, the one-per-year rule, the SIMPLE-IRA 25% penalty, forfeited Rule of 55 access, and the 457(b) trap.
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Severance and Social Security 2026: Timing, Earnings Test, and SSDI Interaction
Severance pay interacts with Social Security in three different ways depending on whether you're collecting retirement benefits, applying for SSDI, or simply paying into the system. Here's how the rules apply at each stage and where the timing actually matters.
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Federal Severance Package 2026: VSIP, VERA, Fork in the Road, and 5 USC 5595
Federal employees have four separate paths off the federal payroll in 2026: VSIP buyout (capped at $25K, proposed raise to 6 months pay), VERA early retirement, the Fork in the Road deferred resignation, and standard 5 USC 5595 severance pay. Here's what each pays and the decision math for 150K+ takers.