Laid off, or about to be?
Laid off? Here is what to do this week, and the money you may be owed.
Answer a few questions. Get a plan for unemployment, severance, health coverage and your job search, plus the programs you may qualify for out of more than 3,000 we track. No résumé. No account to start.
Free to join. Free for Members, always. About 5 minutes.
What you get
This week
File for unemployment in your state, and know what to ask about severance and health coverage.
Money you may be owed
Health premium help, tuition aid, relocation grants and tax credits, ranked for you.
Jobs worth your time
Professional roles checked open, with local ones on top.
Start with your state’s rules
The weekly amount, how many weeks, how to file and how severance counts, with sources and dates.
The clocks that start when you lose a job
This week: file for unemployment
Most states pay only from the week you file, even if you got severance.
Before you sign a severance agreement
If you are 40 or older, a release of age-discrimination claims must give you at least 21 days to consider it (45 days if it is part of a group layoff program) and 7 days to change your mind after you sign.
Within 60 days: choose health coverage
You have 60 days to elect COBRA and 60 days to join a Marketplace plan.
Check whether you were owed notice
Employers with 100 or more employees must give 60 days’ written notice of a plant closing or mass layoff.
Questions
- Is it free?
- Yes. NextChapter is free for Members, always.
- Do I need a résumé?
- No. You can start without a résumé and without an account.
- Where do the program amounts come from?
- Each program links to its official page and says when we last checked it against that page.
Free to join. Free for Members, always. About 5 minutes.
NextChapter is built by Justin Kulla, a founder who has spent nearly 20 years building and investing in education and workforce technology.