Press

For reporters

Everything here is free to quote and link. Every fact has its source next to it. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it on this page with the date.

The story in one paragraph

When a job ends, the separation agreement often arrives as a PDF, then a revised PDF, then an e-signature link, in the hardest week of a person's working life. California's copy rule gives a worker a copy of what they signed only if they ask. No rule requires an employer to mark what changed between versions. Right to a Final Copy is a free, independent training center that helps Californians losing a job understand that paperwork before they sign, and it supports three small rules: a copy by default, a copy you can open, and changes marked.

What a listener or reader can use today

The first-week kit: one printable page with four dates to write down and what people commonly check before signing.
Plain-language articles on final pay, unemployment, COBRA, non-competes and release language.
Short practice games, including Spot the change, which shows how a revised agreement can differ from the first draft.
Where to get real help: legal aid, the Labor Commissioner, the Civil Rights Department, EDD, 988 and 211.

No account, no ads, no paywall. Every example is a fictional story about a made-up company. General information, not legal advice.

Facts, with sources

114,818

Job cuts announced in California through September 2026, the most of any state.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, September 2026 Job Cuts Report (Oct. 1, 2026), Table 3

38%

Of 600 HR and business leaders at U.S. organizations with 500 or more employees said they had made severance less generous, up from 9% in the 2024 study.

LHH, 10th U.S. Severance and Separation Benefits Benchmark Study (Oct. 28, 2026)

"Upon request"

California Labor Code 432 gives a worker a copy of an employment document they signed only upon request. It says nothing about format or later versions.

Cal. Labor Code 432

5 business days

The minimum time to consider most California separation agreements, with notice of the right to consult an attorney. It does not apply to negotiated settlements of claims already filed.

Cal. Government Code 12964.5

21 or 45 days, plus 7

For workers 40 and over waiving federal age claims: 21 days to consider (45 in a group program) and 7 days to revoke.

29 C.F.R. 1625.22

California statutes that require an employer to mark what changed between versions of a separation agreement, as far as the campaign has found.

Campaign review of the Labor Code and Government Code

The three proposed rules

Copy by default. Within five business days after everyone signs, the employer sends the complete signed agreement. No request needed.
A copy you can open. In a format you can open, save and print without logging into the employer’s systems. On paper if you ask.
Changes marked. If the employer changes the agreement after first giving it to you, it identifies every change in writing before you sign.

The model language and the 2027 path are on the bill page. The 2027 session convenes December 7, 2026, and the deadline to introduce a bill is February 19, 2027.

Spokesperson

The founder, an enrolled agent in California, enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. The financial side of job loss shows up in clients' files every tax season.

Available to speak in plain terms about:

The first week after a layoff notice: what people save, ask for and calendar
Why a severance check can look smaller than expected (withholding is not the final tax)
How unemployment, COBRA and final pay usually interact
Why a copy you can open and marked changes matter

What the campaign does not do

It does not name or accuse any company.
It does not discuss any individual case, including the founder's.
It does not review agreements or give legal advice.
It does not accept referral fees from any service it lists.

Contact

Email hello@righttoafinalcopy.org. Interviews by phone, video or in person in Los Angeles. A printable one-page version of the kit is at righttoafinalcopy.org/kit.