State file — Pennsylvania
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Pennsylvania, 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 state severance/settlement consideration or revocation statute found beyond the federal OWBPA/ADEA (21 days individual / 45 days group, 7 days to revoke, age 40+).
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Pennsylvania's clock together and gives you the dates.
Generally enforceable if reasonable in time, geography and scope and tied to a legitimate business interest. Narrow statutory carve-out from Jan. 1, 2025: for covered health care practitioners (MD/DO, CRNA, CRNP, PA), a noncompete entered on/after that date is void and unenforceable — except a covenant of 1 year or less where the practitioner was NOT dismissed by the employer, and sale-of-business covenants.
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.
Fired, laid off, quit or resigned: all wages earned are due no later than the next regular payday on which they would otherwise be due.
Unused vacation: Vacation/fringe benefits are a 'wage supplement' only if promised — payout at separation follows the employer's policy/agreement; no policy, no mandated vacation payout.
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.
Pennsylvania 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.
Back to severance laws by state · the deadline checker