State file — Missouri
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Missouri, 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.
Federal rule only — no Missouri consideration or revocation period for severance/settlement agreements beyond the federal OWBPA (21/45 days to consider + 7 days to revoke, age 40+ ADEA waivers).
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Missouri's clock together and gives you the dates.
No statute governs ordinary employee non-competes; common-law reasonableness controls. Enforceable only to the extent reasonable in duration (up to ~2 years is typically upheld), geographic scope, and activity, and no more restrictive than needed to protect a legitimate interest (trade secrets or customer contacts) — not merely to stop ordinary competition. Separately, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 431.202 gives a safe harbor presuming an employee non-solicitation covenant of 1 year or less reasonable when it protects confidential/trade-secret information, customer/supplier relationships, goodwill, or loyalty.
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.
All wages due are payable on the day of discharge (at the time of termination) if the employee is fired, laid off, or otherwise discharged. If not paid then, the employee should make a written request (certified mail, return receipt requested); the employer has 7 days to respond, and if it does not pay, penalty wages continue at the same rate until paid, up to 60 days.
Unused vacation: No state requirement to provide or pay out vacation, holiday, or severance pay; these are discretionary benefits. Payout is owed only if a contract or the employer's established policy/agreement promises it, and failure to follow that policy is enforced by private action.
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.
Missouri has no state layoff-notice law of its own, so the federal WARN Act is the rule: employers with 100+ workers generally owe 60 days' notice of a plant closing or mass layoff (50+ jobs at one site).
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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