Laid off? Here's what to do this week.

By Steady Path Careers. Last checked October 31, 2026, against New Jersey, New York and federal government sources listed at the bottom. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Want it as a printable checklist? Laid off in NJ or NY: your first 72 hours lays this out hour by hour, with a list of questions to ask HR.

Your first-week checklist

1. File for unemployment in the state where you worked.
2. Find your health insurance end date and mark day 60. Most of your coverage choices close around then.
3. Read your severance offer before you sign it. If you're 40 or older and it asks you to give up age discrimination claims, the law gives you time to think it over.
4. Check your final paycheck on your next regular payday.
5. Leave your 401(k) alone until you've read the 401(k) section below.
6. Write down what you did at this job while it's fresh: numbers, projects, who you helped. It's the start of your next resume.

Unemployment in New Jersey

• Where: online at My Unemployment. Phone and in-person options also exist.
• When: after your job ends. Your claim starts on the Sunday of the week you file. If your last day was a Friday or Saturday after a full week, file after that Sunday.
• How much: about 60% of your average weekly pay, up to $905 a week in 2026, for up to 26 weeks.
• Who qualifies on pay: in 2026, $310 a week for at least 20 weeks, or $15,500 total, in your base year.
• Every week: you certify weekly to keep payments coming. You'll also verify your identity with ID.me before money is released.
• Severance: severance based on years of service doesn't push back your claim, so file right away. Salary continuation or pay in place of notice is different: it can delay benefits.

Unemployment in New York

• Where: online at unemployment.labor.ny.gov.
• When: in your first week out of work. Waiting can cost you benefits.
• How much: up to $869 a week (the maximum since October 6, 2025), for up to 26 weeks of full benefits.
• The waiting week: your first full week isn't paid, but you still have to claim it.
• Every week: certify weekly, starting the Sunday that ends the week.
• Severance: if it's paid within 30 days of your last day and is more than the maximum weekly benefit, you can't collect while it lasts. Smaller severance, or severance that starts more than 30 days later, doesn't block benefits. If your severance starts within 30 days, call the Telephone Claims Center. WARN Act pay doesn't count as severance.

Keeping health insurance

• COBRA (private employers with 20 or more employees): you get at least 60 days to sign up, coverage generally lasts 18 months, and you can be charged up to 102% of the plan's cost.
• Smaller employers in New Jersey: state continuation covers insured plans of employers with 50 or fewer employees, on terms similar to COBRA.
• Smaller employers in New York: state continuation covers insured plans of employers with fewer than 20 employees. In New York, continuation on insured plans can last up to 36 months. Sign up in writing within 60 days.
• Check the marketplace too. Losing job coverage opens a 60-day window to enroll through Get Covered New Jersey or NY State of Health. Compare prices there before you pick COBRA.
• Under 31 in New Jersey? If you're unmarried, have no children, live in NJ or study full-time, and have no other coverage, you may be able to go on a parent's NJ-issued group plan. Apply within about 30 days.

Severance and layoff notice

• New Jersey mass layoffs: under the state WARN law, an employer with 100 or more employees that lays off 50 or more people at a site within 30 days owes 90 days' notice and severance of one week of pay per full year you worked. Short notice adds 4 more weeks of pay.
• New York: private employers with 50 or more full-time employees in the state must give 90 days' notice before larger layoffs and closings.
• 40 or older? If your severance asks you to give up age discrimination claims, federal law gives you at least 21 days to decide (45 days in a group layoff) and 7 days to change your mind after signing. The agreement must tell you in writing to talk to a lawyer. In a group layoff, you're also owed a list of the job titles and ages of who was and wasn't let go.
• Don't sign on the spot. Anything you don't understand is worth one call to an employment lawyer before you sign.

Your final paycheck and your 401(k)

• Final pay: in both New Jersey and New York, it's due by the regular payday for the pay period you were let go in.
• Moving your 401(k): a direct rollover into an IRA or a new employer's plan has nothing withheld.
• Cashing out: if the money is paid to you, the plan withholds 20%. Whatever you don't roll over within 60 days is taxable, and before age 59½ there's usually an extra 10% tax.
• The age-55 exception: if you leave the job in or after the year you turn 55, the extra 10% tax doesn't apply to withdrawals from that employer's plan. It doesn't apply to IRAs.
• A tax professional can tell you what's right for your situation before you move money.

Then, the job search

Give yourself a few days. Then start with the things that cost nothing:

• See what free career help New Jersey and New York offer in this guide.
• Turn what you wrote down in week one into resume lines with numbers. This guide shows how.
• Watch for scams aimed at people who just lost a job. The warning signs are here.
• Check what your field pays near you with the pay lookup, so you know your number before an offer comes.