Every clock that starts the day you are told

Why this module exists

Rights in employment law are almost always rights with a deadline attached. The right itself is usually simple. The deadline is what people lose.

What makes the period after a job loss especially dangerous is that every clock starts at the same moment, during the weeks when you are least able to track anything. Nobody reminds you. Several of these deadlines are enforced strictly.

Open a calendar now, while you read this, and put each date in as you go.

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The master deadline table

The clock	Starts	How long	Why it matters
Download your documents	The moment you are told	Often hours	Access to work email, e-signature portals and equity dashboards usually ends on or before the separation date
Separation agreement review	The day you receive the agreement	At least 5 business days in California	Government Code 12964.5(b)(4), the right to consult an attorney
Age-claim consideration, 40+	The day you receive the offer	21 days, or 45 days in a group program	29 U.S.C. 626(f), federal OWBPA
Age-claim revocation, 40+	The day you sign	7 days, cannot be shortened	29 U.S.C. 626(f)
Final pay on discharge	Your discharge date	Immediately	Labor Code 201. Late payment triggers a daily waiting-time penalty under Labor Code 203, up to 30 days of wages
Unemployment claim	Your last day	File right away	California has a one-week unpaid waiting period, so delay costs money directly
COBRA election	Loss of coverage or notice, whichever is later	60 days	Federal COBRA
Covered California special enrollment	Loss of job-based coverage	60 days	Marketplace special enrollment period
Payroll records request	The date of your written request	Employer has 21 days	Labor Code 226(b). $750 penalty for failure
Personnel file request	The date of your written request	Employer has 30 calendar days	Labor Code 1198.5. $750 penalty for failure
Discrimination or harassment complaint	The last act	3 years to file with the California Civil Rights Department	Government Code 12960
Civil suit after right-to-sue	The date on the notice	1 year	Government Code 12965(c)
EEOC charge	The last act	300 days in California	Federal deadline, much shorter than the state one
Equity exercise window	Your termination date	Commonly 90 days for options	Set by your award agreement, not by the severance letter

Note how far apart the two discrimination clocks are. Three years at the state agency and 300 days at the federal one. People who assume they have years sometimes lose the federal claim without knowing it existed.

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The clocks that surprise people

The e-signature window. There is no statute here. It is the shortest and least forgiving clock on the list because it is set by an IT policy, not by law. Once your access ends, the signed agreement you are legally bound by may be unreachable. The Right to a Final Copy bill would close that gap. Until it passes, download immediately.

Final pay. California is unusually strict. On discharge, final wages are due immediately. Labor Code 203 then imposes a penalty of one day of wages for each day the payment is late, capped at 30 days. This is not automatic. You have to claim it, typically through a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner.

The 7-day revocation. If you are 40 or over and you sign, you have seven days to change your mind about the age-claim release. This cannot be shortened by agreement. It is a real, usable safety net and very few people know it exists.

The 300-day EEOC clock. Shorter than the state clock by more than two years.

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What to do today, in ten minutes

1. Open your calendar.
2. Add: signing deadline, revocation deadline if you are 40 or over, separation date, final pay date, benefits end date, COBRA election deadline, Covered California deadline, and your equity exercise deadline.
3. Set a reminder one week before each.
4. Add a reminder 21 days out and 30 days out from the date you send your records request.
5. Add one more reminder for 10 months from your last day, labeled “check whether I still have any claims worth asking about.” That one is for the agency deadlines.

That is the entire module. Ten minutes now, and the rest of this site becomes optional rather than urgent.

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A caution on deadlines in general

These are the general rules, and exceptions exist. Deadlines can be shorter in specific situations, including some public employment, some union contracts with grievance timelines, and claims against public entities, which have their own much shorter government claim deadlines. If you worked for a city, county, school district or the state, ask about that specifically and early.

When a deadline is close, that is the moment to get real advice rather than more reading. See Where to get help.