The WARN Act is not the only federal law that may matter when you lose your job. Other laws may affect your health insurance, retirement benefits, severance agreement, or the reason you were selected for layoff.
These laws do not generally prevent an employer from conducting an otherwise lawful layoff. They may matter if an employer selected workers for an unlawful reason, retaliated against someone for exercising a protected right, mishandled employee benefits, or failed to follow special rules.
Coverage depends on the employer, the worker, and the facts involved. State laws may provide additional protections.
COBRA: Continuing Your Health Insurance
COBRA may allow you and your covered family members to temporarily continue the employer-sponsored health coverage you had before the layoff. You will usually have to pay the full premium yourself, potentially including the portion your employer previously paid, so compare the cost with other coverage options before enrolling.
Learn about COBRA continuation coverage from the U.S. Department of Labor
ERISA: Health, Retirement, and Other Employee Benefit Plans
ERISA establishes federal rules for many private-sector retirement and employee benefit plans, including requirements involving plan information, claims, appeals, and fiduciary responsibilities. It does not guarantee that every benefit will continue after a layoff, but it may help if benefits were denied, mishandled, or administered contrary to the plan’s terms.
Learn about protecting retirement and health benefits after job loss
ADEA and OWBPA: Protections for Workers Age 40 or Older
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act generally prohibits covered employers from selecting workers for layoff because they are 40 or older. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act adds special requirements when an employer asks a worker age 40 or older to waive age-discrimination claims in a severance agreement, including additional review time and disclosure requirements in certain group layoffs.
These laws do not prohibit an employer from laying off an older worker for a lawful, nondiscriminatory reason.
Read the EEOC’s guidance on severance agreements and discrimination waivers
Title VII: Discrimination Based on Protected Characteristics
Title VII prohibits covered employers from selecting workers for layoff because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Sex discrimination can include discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Title VII does not make layoffs illegal by themselves. It may apply when the selection process intentionally discriminates or when a supposedly neutral practice unlawfully harms a protected group.
Learn about Title VII from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act generally prohibits covered employers from selecting a qualified worker for layoff because of a disability, a history of disability, or an association with someone who has a disability. It does not prevent an employer from including a worker with a disability in a legitimate layoff for a nondiscriminatory reason.
Read the EEOC’s guidance on disability discrimination and employment decisions
Pregnancy and Related Protections
Federal law generally prohibits covered employers from selecting someone for layoff because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act also protects qualifying workers who request or use reasonable workplace accommodations, but it does not provide blanket protection from an otherwise lawful layoff.
Learn about pregnancy discrimination and workplace protections
USERRA: Military-Service Protections
USERRA protects qualifying service members and veterans from employment discrimination based on military service and provides certain reemployment, seniority, benefit, and pension rights. A service member may still be affected by a legitimate layoff, but military service cannot be an unlawful reason for the selection.
FMLA: Protected Family or Medical Leave
Eligible workers generally cannot be punished, targeted for layoff, or retaliated against for requesting or using protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. FMLA leave does not provide immunity from a legitimate layoff that would have occurred even if the worker had not taken leave.
Read the Department of Labor’s FMLA employee-protection fact sheet
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act protects many private-sector workers who act together to discuss or improve wages, benefits, layoffs, or other working conditions, even when they are not members of a union. An employer generally cannot select someone for layoff because of protected union activity or other protected group activity, but the law does not prohibit a legitimate layoff for unrelated reasons.
Learn about protected concerted activity from the National Labor Relations Board
Whistleblower and Retaliation Protections
Federal and state laws may prohibit an employer from selecting someone for layoff because the worker reported safety concerns, discrimination, wage violations, fraud, or other legally protected conduct. There is no single whistleblower law covering every report, and filing deadlines under some laws are extremely short.
Employer Bankruptcy or Closure
When an employer files bankruptcy, workers may need to file claims for unpaid wages, commissions, severance, or certain benefit contributions. Some employee claims receive priority over ordinary unsecured debts, but priority does not guarantee full payment, especially when the employer has few assets.
If You Think the Layoff May Have Violated the Law
Save the layoff notice, severance agreement, performance records, benefit documents, relevant messages, and any information explaining how workers were selected. Write down dates and events while they are still fresh.
Do not assume the deadline in your severance agreement is the only deadline that matters. Government complaints and legal claims may have separate filing deadlines, some much shorter than people expect. An employment attorney, union representative, government agency, or qualified legal-aid organization can help determine which law applies.
This page provides general information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed: August 2026