• Some employees being laid off by Big Tech companies can expect generous severance packages.

• But accepting severance also means giving up the ability to bring future claims, labor lawyers said.

• Employees should consider their options before signing a severance agreement, they said.

As layoffs roil tech and other industries, many departing employees face a consequential workplace decision: signing a severance agreement.

Some tech companies appear to be offering fairly generous packages. Google and Meta are providing at least four months pay for those laid off, with veteran employees qualifying for longer payouts. But exit documents also contain information about health insurance and returning any office equipment, as well as details on seeking unemployment. Once the agreement is finalized, it can be difficult to challenge it later, attorneys said.

Here are five things to consider when signing your severance agreement, according to labor lawyers:

1. Learn if there are WARN act requirements in your state 

Companies are often required to let affected workers know ahead of mass layoffs. The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act, which applies to big employers, calls for a 60-day notice period.

States also have their own versions of the law, which could require employers to offer even more notice. New York's WARN act, for instance, can require companies to provide a 90-day notice period. New Jersey's similar rule, which calls for certain employers to provide a 90-day notice period, went into effect on Monday.

When WARN Act rules apply, the notice period can determine the time in which employees being laid off need to be paid. For instance, in December 2021, the online mortgage startup Better increased its severance pay for laid off employees to 60 days, coinciding with the 60-day notice duration outlined by the federal WARN Act.

It's not clear how state laws would apply to employees working from home, especially if their employers are not located in those states, said Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC.