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✦ THE FIRST-WEEK TRIAGE · FREE, NO ACCOUNT
Five clocks started when you got the news. Here are yours.
Sixty seconds: your last day and your state in, your real deadlines out, severance review window, unemployment filing, COBRA, the Marketplace, and whether your layoff was even filed properly. Dates, not vibes.
YOUR LAST DAY (OR THE DAY YOU GOT NOTICE)
YOUR STATE
ARE YOU 40 OR OLDER?
WERE OTHERS LAID OFF WITH YOU?
DOES THE COMPANY HAVE 100+ EMPLOYEES?
YOUR CLOCKS (DATES APPEAR AS YOU TYPE)
Severance review window
Check the agreement's own deadline
Answer the age question and this gets specific: 40+ usually means a legal 21-day window (45 in a group layoff).
Decode the agreement (free) →
Unemployment: file this week
Benefits start from the day you file, not the day you were laid off
Type your state above and this fills in the waiting-week rule, the benefit duration, and the official portal.
All 50 states, step by step →
COBRA election window
About 60 days after your coverage ends
You have about 60 days from your COBRA election notice to opt in (coverage often runs to the end of your last month first, so your exact date is on the notice). Don't pay for it reflexively; price it against the Marketplace first.
COBRA vs. Marketplace, compared →
Marketplace special enrollment
60 days from losing coverage
Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment window on the ACA Marketplace. In 2026 it is not automatically cheaper than COBRA, so run both with your real numbers.
Price both in plain English →
Dates are computed from what you enter and the usual federal/state rules; your paperwork's own dates control. General info, not legal advice.