State file — Tennessee
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Tennessee, 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 Tennessee's clock together and gives you the dates.
Generally enforceable under a reasonableness test (legitimate business interest, no undue hardship, not against public interest). NEW in 2026 (secondary reports): HB 1034, signed May 7, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, prospectively bars requiring/requesting/enforcing a noncompete against an employee whose annualised compensation is under $70,000, and creates rebuttable presumptions — 2 years or less presumed reasonable for employees/contractors. Health care providers have a separate older statute, §63-1-148. Confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions are expressly preserved.
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.
Quit or discharged: pay in full all wages/salary earned no later than the next regular payday following separation OR 21 days following separation, whichever occurs LAST. The statute states there is no exemption from this requirement.
Unused vacation: Final wages include accrued vacation pay / compensatory time only to the extent owed under the employer's own policy or a labor agreement; TN does not require an employer to offer vacation, and a written forfeiture policy generally controls.
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.
Tennessee has its own layoff-notice law (a mini-WARN law): Yes — but narrow and reporting-shaped, not a federal-style 60-day advance-notice law.
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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