When you are fired, get laid off, or quit your job, you still have rights. State laws require your employer to provide your final paycheck in short order. You may also be entitled to severance, continued health insurance coverage, and more. You may be eligible for unemployment compensation and/or other forms of government benefits. And, if you were fired illegally, you might consider a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Wrongful Termination: Retaliation & Whistleblowing
If you were fired for exercising your legal rights or complaining of illegal activity, you may have a case against your employer.
Wrongful Termination: Was Your Firing Illegal?
If you've been fired from your job, do you have grounds to challenge the termination?
Wrongful Termination: Gathering Documentation
If you lose your job, protect your legal rights with documentation.
Can You Be Fired From a Job While on Leave With Disability?
Being granted disability insurance benefits while you are off work does not prevent your employer from taking your job away.
COBRA: Continuing Health Insurance After a Job Loss
If you have employer-provided health insurance and you're fired or laid off, you'll probably want to know whether and how long you'll be able to keep your coverage.
Your Rights When You Leave a Job
Tips on severance packages, health insurance (COBRA), unemployment insurance, and final paychecks.
State Laws on Insurance Continuation
In addition to the federal COBRA law, state laws also give employees the right to continue health insurance after a job ends.
Layoffs and Plant Closings: Know Your Rights
Learn when laid-off workers have the right to final checks, severance, unemployment, and advance warning—including notice of mass layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Laws on Mass Layoffs and Plant Closings
Federal and state law provide protections for employees who lose their jobs in a plant closing or mass layoff.
Laid Off or RIF'ed: Do You Need a Lawyer?
You might have legal claims even if your employer laid you off or let you go in a reduction-in-force (RIF).
Will a Lawyer Take Your Case if You Were Laid Off or RIF'ed?
You may have a wrongful termination case even if you were laid off.
Losing a Job: Ten Things You Can Do to Make It Less Painful
Ways to keep a job loss from becoming a financial disaster.
Chart: Final Paycheck Laws by State
Learn your state's law on when you have to provide a departing employee with the final paycheck.