Signs a layoff may be coming, and what to get in order now

Patterns worth recognizing

These patterns can come before a separation. They also happen for ordinary reasons, so treat them as reasons to get organized, not as proof.

• Documentation starts suddenly. After a long friendly stretch, feedback moves into formal write-ups, ratings or a performance plan.
• The job thins out. Projects, information and invitations drift elsewhere over weeks, and nobody says why.
• Meetings with no agenda. A short calendar invite from your manager and someone from HR, often late in the week.
• Layoffs in small groups. Several small rounds instead of one announcement.

What you can lawfully keep

Your own employment records are yours. Company confidential material is not. The line matters, because collecting the wrong thing is the most common unforced error after a job loss.

Things that are generally yours: pay stubs, your offer letter, documents you signed, your benefits summaries, your own performance reviews, and your own notes about your work conditions.

Things that are not: client lists, source code, internal strategy, other people’s personnel information, and anything marked confidential that is not about you.

If you need records you do not have, California gives you written routes with deadlines: Labor Code 1198.5 for your personnel file (30 days), Labor Code 226 for payroll records (21 days), and Labor Code 432 for any document you signed.

Four dates to know on day one

1. Your separation date.
2. The date your final pay is due. On a layoff in California it is due immediately.
3. The date your health coverage ends.
4. The deadline to decide on any agreement.

What a fair process usually looks like

A fair process tells you in private, gives you the paperwork to take home, states your deadline in writing, and does not ask for a signature in the meeting. The site’s ideal example walks through it step by step.