First-week checklist | Right to a Final Copy

Today

You do not have to sign anything today. Many people say: "I understand. I would like to review this before signing anything."
Download your documents before your access ends. Use the four-minute download list.
Write down your separation date.
Write down when final pay will arrive.
Write down when health coverage ends.
Write down the deadline printed on the agreement.
Get a named contact and an email address that will still work next week.
Give them a personal email address they can reach you at.
If this is a group layoff, ask whether a California WARN Act notice was issued.

Day one or two

File for unemployment with EDD. Do not wait for the agreement to be finished.
Confirm your final pay arrived and includes accrued unused vacation or PTO.
Send the records request letter.
Put every deadline into your calendar with a reminder one week before.
Start a folder named by date. Save every version of every document.
Write a short, factual timeline of what happened, while it is fresh.

Week one

Read the agreement slowly, with a pen, somewhere calm.
List every document the agreement names and request all of them.
Check the separation date against your next equity vesting date.
Check your option exercise window, usually 90 days from termination.
Price COBRA against Covered California before electing either.
Decide on one or two specific things to ask for, and send one short email.
If you are 40 or over, confirm you were given 21 days, or 45 in a group layoff, plus 7 days to revoke.
If anything in the agreement looks legally significant, book a consultation now rather than later.

Week two and three

Elect health coverage.
Decide what to do with your 401(k). Address any outstanding 401(k) loan.
Certify for unemployment benefits on schedule.
Check that your records request was answered. Payroll records were due in 21 days.
Reconcile the final pay statement against the agreement, line by line.
If you signed and you are 40 or over, note that your 7-day revocation window is short.

Before the year ends

Check that your personnel file arrived. It was due within 30 calendar days.
Review your withholding and whether you owe estimated tax.
Decide on any equity exercise before the window closes.
Request federal withholding on unemployment benefits, or set money aside for them.
Put the agreement, the final pay statement and the W-2 in one folder for tax time.

The one thing not on this list

Do not forward company documents to your personal email. Your own records are yours. Company confidential material is not. Taking it can create a bigger problem than the one you started with. What you may keep.

The first-week checklist

Today

Day one or two

Week one

Week two and three

Before the year ends