The 21-Day Rule: Your Severance Review Window, Explained
The short answer: if you are 40 or older, federal law — the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), part of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act — gives you at least 21 days to consider a severance agreement before signing. If you were let go as part of a group layoff or exit program, the window is 45 days. Either way, after you sign you get 7 days to change your mind and revoke. The clock is a legal right, not a favor from HR.
Why the rule exists
A severance agreement asks you to waive — give up — your right to sue, including any claim of age discrimination. Congress decided that waiver is only valid ("knowing and voluntary") if the employee gets real time and real information to decide. So the OWBPA sets conditions an employer must meet for the age-discrimination waiver in your agreement to hold up. The review window is the most visible of them.
The rules, one by one
| Situation | Your window |
|---|---|
| Individual exit, age 40+ | At least 21 days to consider |
| Group layoff / exit incentive program, age 40+ | At least 45 days to consider, plus written group disclosures |
| After signing (age 40+) | 7 days to revoke — the agreement isn't final until it passes |
| Under 40 | No federal window — the deadline in your letter controls |
The 21 days (individual). The period runs from when you receive the agreement (the final version). You may sign sooner if you genuinely choose to — but pressure to sign early is exactly what the rule guards against, and signing on day 2 because a manager hovered is a bad reason. Use the time; that's what it's for.
The 45 days (group). When two or more employees 40+ are part of the same program, the window doubles, and the employer must also hand over written information: the group covered by the program, the eligibility factors and time limits, and — the part people miss — the job titles and ages of everyone selected for the program and everyone in the same group who was not selected. That age list exists so patterns are visible. Ask for it if it isn't in your packet.
The 7-day revocation. After you sign, you have 7 days to revoke, typically by written notice delivered the way the agreement specifies. The agreement does not become effective until the revocation period expires — which is also why severance payments often start after that week. Revocation undoes the deal, including the payment, so it's an emergency brake, not a negotiating round.
Changes restart the clock. If the employer materially changes the offer during your window, the consideration period generally starts over — unless you and the employer agree in writing that it won't. A counter-offer process therefore usually comes with a fresh window.
If they gave you less time than the law requires
An employer that demands a signature in, say, 5 days from a 40+ employee has a real problem: the age-discrimination waiver may fail the OWBPA's requirements, which means the release of age claims may not hold. This is leverage, and it's also a fact pattern worth showing an employment attorney — see what that costs. Note the limits: shortchanging the window doesn't automatically void the whole agreement or entitle you to more money — it undermines the waiver of age claims specifically.
What if you're under 40?
The OWBPA windows don't apply — they exist to protect the age-discrimination waiver, and the ADEA covers workers 40+. Your deadline is the one in your offer letter, set by the company. Practical reality: deadlines in letters are often soft, and asking for more time is a normal, commonly granted request — phrase it as diligence, not defiance ("I want to have the agreement reviewed before I sign; may I have until [date]?"). Some states add their own rules in specific situations, and an individual contract or policy may promise a review period. But don't rely on a federal clock you don't have.
How to actually use the window
- Days 1–2: Read the whole agreement with a pen. Note every clause you don't fully understand. Run your numbers through the free checker.
- Days 3–7: Gather facts: your last pay stub, benefits summary (what COBRA will cost), equity/RSU statements with vesting dates, your PTO balance, any bonus plan documents.
- Week 2: Decide your asks (see what's negotiable). If anything smells like discrimination, retaliation, or a very large amount of equity — this is the week to consult a lawyer, while time remains.
- Final week: Put any counter in writing, get any agreed changes into the agreement itself (not an email promise), and sign only the version that contains them.
- After signing: Calendar the 7-day revocation deadline anyway. If new information surfaces in that week, you'll be glad you know it exists.
The window is the one asset every 40+ signer is handed for free. The people who get the least from severance are the ones who sign in the first 48 hours out of anxiety. The document can wait the days the law already gave you.
Know your clock — and your number
The free checker tells you both: your exact review window based on your age and layoff type, and whether the offer inside that window is below market, at market, or strong. Private and instant — nothing leaves your browser.
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