State file — Texas
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Texas, 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 Texas's clock together and gives you the dates.
Enforceable if (1) ancillary to or part of an otherwise enforceable agreement when made, and (2) its limits on time, geographic area and scope of activity are reasonable and no greater than necessary to protect goodwill or another legitimate business interest. No wage threshold and no fixed maximum duration. If limits are unreasonable the court must reform them to reasonable limits and enforce as reformed (injunctive relief only for pre-reformation breach).
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.
Involuntarily separated — laid off, discharged or fired: pay in full no later than the 6th calendar day after discharge. Voluntary separation — quit, retire, resign: pay in full no later than the next regularly scheduled payday. 'Mutual agreement' separations are generally treated as involuntary (fact-dependent).
Unused vacation: Final pay includes fringe benefits payable under a written policy (e.g. vacation) — those components follow the same deadline unless the written wage agreement/policy for that component provides a different payout schedule, in which case that schedule 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.
Texas 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