Final Pay, Health Insurance and Required Notices When a Job Ends in New York

When a job ends in New York, State statutes call for a written termination notice no more than five working days after the termination date, a written notice of the right to file for unemployment benefits from employers liable for unemployment contributions, and, for an employee covered by a group health insurance policy, a right to continue that coverage at the employee's own expense.⁠^[1][2][4][5] The State Department of Labor says final wages are due by the regular payday for the pay period worked.⁠^[3] Severance pay is different: the Department says the State Labor Law does not require it unless a policy or agreement provides for it.⁠^[7]

The rules on this page are New York State rules, plus the federal health-coverage law known as COBRA. This page does not cover New York City law.

What an employer has to provide, at a glance

Item	Rule	Timing	Layer
Written termination notice	Exact date of termination and exact date benefits are canceled.⁠[1]	No more than five working days after termination.⁠[1]	New York State
Unemployment notice	Written notice, on a Department of Labor form, of the right to file for unemployment benefits.⁠[2]	At each separation, reduction in hours or other interruption of employment.⁠[2]	New York State
Final wages	The Department of Labor says the employer must pay the wages owed.⁠[3]	By the regular payday for the pay period worked.⁠[3]	New York State
Health insurance continuation (group insurance policy)	Right to continue coverage for the employee and eligible dependents.⁠[4]	Written request within sixty days; up to thirty-six months.⁠[4]	New York State
Health coverage continuation (COBRA)	Right to elect continuation under a group health plan, except small-employer plans.⁠[6]	Up to 18 months for a termination of employment.⁠[6]	Federal
Severance pay	Not required by the State Labor Law absent a policy or agreement.⁠[7]	As the policy or agreement provides.	New York State

The written termination notice

Under New York State Labor Law § 195(6), every employer has to notify any employee terminated from employment, in writing, of the exact date of the termination and the exact date of cancellation of employee benefits connected with the termination.⁠^[1] The statute says that in no case may the notice be provided more than five working days after the date of termination.⁠^[1]

The text of the State statute is about those two dates.⁠^[1] It also says that failing to notify an employee of the cancellation of accident or health insurance subjects the employer to an additional penalty under another section of the Labor Law.⁠^[1]

The State health continuation statute counts its sixty-day deadline for the written election and first premium from the date benefits would otherwise terminate.⁠^[5]

The unemployment insurance notice

Under New York State Labor Law § 590(2), every employer liable for unemployment contributions has to inform each employee of the right to file an application for unemployment benefits.⁠^[2] The notice has to be in writing, on a form furnished or approved by the Department of Labor, and has to be given at the time of each permanent or indefinite separation from employment, reduction in hours, temporary separation, and any other interruption of continued employment that results in total or partial unemployment.⁠^[2]

The Department of Labor says that a new law requiring this notice "at certain times" took effect on November 11, 2023, and that employees are to be notified using form IA 12.3, the Record of Employment.⁠^[2]

Receiving the notice does not decide whether a person qualifies. Eligibility after a firing or a resignation is covered in the guide to unemployment benefits after being fired or quitting.

Final wages and unused vacation

The New York State Department of Labor's wage-and-hour FAQ answers the question of when terminated employees get their last check this way: "When employment has ended, the employer must pay the wages by the regular payday for the pay period worked. If asked, the employer must mail the final wages to the employee".⁠^[3]

Unused vacation is treated differently from wages for time worked. The Department of Labor says that whether an employer must pay for accrued, unused vacation when an employee resigns or is discharged depends on the terms of the vacation or resignation policy.⁠^[3] According to the Department, New York courts have held that an agreement to give benefits like vacation can specify that employees lose accrued benefits under certain conditions, but to be valid the employer must have told employees, in writing, of the conditions that nullify the benefit.⁠^[3]

The Department of Labor says its Division of Labor Standards investigates claims for unpaid or withheld wages, including illegal deductions, and tries to collect them.⁠^[3] Retaliation for complaining about a Labor Law violation is covered in retaliation for wage complaints under Labor Law § 215.

Health insurance: two continuation laws

Two laws can give a departing employee the right to keep group health coverage: a New York State insurance statute and the federal law commonly called COBRA. This page does not cover how the two fit together for one person, so the two are set out separately here.

	New York State continuation (Ins. Law § 3221(m))	Federal COBRA (29 U.S.C. §§ 1161-1163)
What it covers	Group policies providing hospital, surgical or medical expense insurance.⁠[4]	Group health plans, except a plan for a year in which all employers maintaining it normally employed fewer than 20 employees in the preceding calendar year.⁠[6]
Triggering event	Insurance ceases because of termination of employment.⁠[4]	Termination of employment, other than for the employee's gross misconduct, or a reduction of hours.⁠[6]
Longest period for a job loss	Thirty-six months after coverage would otherwise have ended.⁠[4]	18 months after the qualifying event.⁠[6]
Premium	Not more than 102 percent of the group rate.⁠[5]	Not more than 102 percent of the applicable premium.⁠[6]

New York State continuation

Under New York State Insurance Law § 3221(m), a group health insurance policy has to provide that an employee whose insurance ceases because of termination of employment is entitled, without evidence of insurability, to continue the coverage for themself and eligible dependents.⁠^[4] The employee has to request continuation in writing within the sixty-day period following the later of the termination date or the date the employee is sent notice of the right by first class mail.⁠^[4]

The cost falls on the former employee. Under the State statute, the employee pays the required premium, not more often than monthly in advance and not more than 102 percent of the group rate, and the written election and first premium payment have to reach the policyholder or employer within sixty days of the date benefits would otherwise terminate.⁠^[5]

Under the State statute, continuation ends at the latest thirty-six months after the date coverage would otherwise have terminated, and earlier if the person fails to pay premiums on time, becomes entitled to Medicare, or becomes covered under another group plan.⁠^[4]

Federal COBRA

Under federal law, the sponsor of a group health plan has to provide that each qualified beneficiary who would lose coverage because of a qualifying event is entitled to elect continuation coverage.⁠^[6] The federal requirement does not apply to a plan for any calendar year if all employers maintaining it normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year.⁠^[6]

For a termination of employment or reduction of hours, federal law sets the maximum required period at 18 months after the qualifying event, and allows the plan to charge a premium of not more than 102 percent of the applicable premium.⁠^[6] A termination by reason of the employee's gross misconduct is excluded from the federal definition of a qualifying event.⁠^[6]

As a practical matter, the election paperwork you receive is the place to look for the dates and the premium that apply to your coverage.

How these items interact with severance and releases

A severance agreement can restate final pay and benefits dates alongside a release of claims. The EEOC's employee checklist says to make sure the employer is not asking for a release of COBRA health insurance benefits, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, Fair Labor Standards Act claims or vested retirement benefits.⁠^[8]

For unemployment purposes under New York State law, dismissal pay does not include payments for pension, retirement, accrued leave or health insurance.⁠^[9] See severance agreements and releases and how long you have to consider an agreement.

What people commonly get wrong

• "New York requires severance." The State Department of Labor says the Labor Law does not, where there was no written or oral policy or agreement.⁠^[7]
• "Unused vacation always has to be paid out." The Department of Labor says it depends on the employer's policy and on whether forfeiture conditions were given to employees in writing.⁠^[3]
• "Health coverage ends for good on the last day." New York State law and federal COBRA each give a right to continue group coverage for a period, at the former employee's expense.⁠^[4][5][6]

Practical checklist for the last week and the weeks after

• Keep the termination notice and the Record of Employment, and note the dates on each.
• Compare the final pay stub with your own record of hours, commissions and any vacation the written policy says is paid out.
• Ask the plan administrator or insurer, in writing, for the continuation election form if it does not arrive.
• Keep a personal copy of the employee handbook pages on vacation, benefits and separation, if you have lawful access to them.
• Give the employer a current mailing address for tax forms and benefit notices.

If the job ended in circumstances that may involve discrimination, harassment or retaliation, the filing periods run separately from everything on this page; see the guides to at-will employment in New York, retaliation after you quit or are fired and quit or stay: the legal consequences of each. Agency contact details are in the New York workplace agency directory.