Kansas Severance Pay Laws (2026): Is Severance Required?

No Kansas statute we found requires an employer to pay severance, and we found no Kansas plant-closing or mass-layoff law. Severance in Kansas is owed only when a contract, company policy or separation agreement promises it. The one Kansas statute that speaks directly to severance is the unemployment rule in K.S.A. 44-704(i), which reduces weekly benefits by severance paid during the benefit year.

For how other states handle severance, and the federal rules that apply everywhere, see our severance pay laws by state guide.

Information last verified on October 8, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Kansas law on severance pay: the absence of a state mandate or layoff-notice law, the Kansas Wage Payment Act (K.S.A. 44-313 to 44-324), and the unemployment offset in K.S.A. 44-704. Federal rules appear in short notes; the full federal layer is on our severance pay laws guide. For final pay deadlines, see Kansas final paycheck laws; for benefit amounts, see Kansas unemployment benefits.

Is severance pay required in Kansas?

No Kansas law we found requires it. We read the Kansas Wage Payment Act sections on the Revisor of Statutes site (K.S.A. 44-313, 44-314, 44-315, 44-316, 44-319, 44-322, 44-322a, 44-323 and 44-324) and none requires severance. The U.S. Department of Labor says the federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require severance either; it is a matter of agreement between employer and employee.

We also filtered the titles of all 1,522 bills in the Legislature's 2025-2026 bill list for severance, mass layoff, plant closing and wage payment, and found no bill creating a severance requirement. We did not run a full-text search of the whole Kansas code, so treat this as what our review found rather than a guarantee.

No Kansas WARN act: federal WARN applies

We found no Kansas law requiring notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. The Kansas Department of Commerce's WARN page describes only the federal act and lists who must receive notice: each affected employee or union representative, the chief elected local official, and the State of Kansas Dislocated Worker Unit.

Federal WARN covers employers with 100 or more employees not counting part-time employees, or 100 or more employees who together work at least 4,000 hours a week excluding overtime (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)(1)). A covered employer must give 60 days' written notice before a covered plant closing or mass layoff, and one that skips it owes back pay and benefits for up to 60 days (29 U.S.C. 2102, 2104). Our severance pay laws guide explains who it covers.

Is promised severance "wages" in Kansas?

Kansas law does not answer this directly. K.S.A. 44-313(c) defines wages as "compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, commission or other basis less authorized withholding and deductions." The definition does not mention severance, and we did not review Kansas court decisions on whether a severance promise fits it.

The answer matters because the Wage Payment Act carries a penalty. If an employer willfully fails to pay wages, K.S.A. 44-315(b) adds 1% of the unpaid wages for each day (except Sundays and legal holidays) after the eighth day after payment was due, or 100% of the unpaid wages, whichever is less.

When severance must be paid

K.S.A. 44-315(a) requires an employer to pay a departing employee's "earned wages not later than the next regular payday upon which he or she would have been paid if still employed." That rule speaks to earned wages. It says nothing about severance, so the payment date for severance comes from the agreement or policy that promises it. Final-wage timing is covered in Kansas final paycheck laws.

Filing a claim

The Kansas Department of Labor administers the Wage Payment Act. An employee may file a wage claim with the secretary of labor (K.S.A. 44-322a(a)) or sue in court (K.S.A. 44-324(a)). A disputed claim goes to a hearing under K.S.A. 44-322a. If the secretary finds a valid claim under $10,000, the secretary must take an assignment of it on the employee's written request; at $10,000 or more, the secretary may (44-324(b)).

We did not find a deadline in the Wage Payment Act sections we read, and the Department of Labor's site blocked our access, so we could not confirm its own claim deadline. Kansas sets general deadlines to sue: five years for an action on a written agreement or promise (K.S.A. 60-511(1)), three years for an unwritten contract or a liability created by statute other than a penalty (K.S.A. 60-512), and one year for an action on a statutory penalty (K.S.A. 60-514(c)), which may apply to the 44-315(b) penalty. Which deadline fits a particular severance claim is a question for a lawyer licensed in Kansas, so act early.

Severance and Kansas unemployment benefits

Severance reduces Kansas unemployment. K.S.A. 44-704(i) says "any benefit otherwise payable for any week shall be reduced by the amount of any separation, termination, severance or other similar payment paid to a claimant at the time of or after the claimant's separation from employment during the benefit year."

The statute also says how the payment is spread over weeks:

• Pay designated by month. A monthly amount is converted to a weekly amount by multiplying it by 12 and dividing by 52 (44-704(i)(1)).
• No period designated. Your normal weekly wage is attributed to the first week and each following week until the payment is used up (44-704(i)(1)).
• A long reduction. If your benefits are completely reduced under this subsection for 52 or more weeks, you are entitled to a new benefit year once the separation pay runs out, based on the reduced claim's base period (44-704(i)(3)).

Another part of the same section, 44-704(f), treats severance differently for the weekly partial-earnings calculation. Severance paid as scheduled, with benefits continued as though the job had not ended, counts as wages there (44-704(f)(1)(B)), while other severance paid after the job ends does not (44-704(f)(2)(C)). We found no Kansas Department of Labor guidance on how the agency applies these two subsections to a lump sum, so report any severance when you file and let the agency decide. The section was last amended in 2024 (L. 2024, ch. 83). Benefit amounts and filing are covered in Kansas unemployment benefits.

Kansas income tax withholding on severance

The Kansas Department of Revenue's Withholding Tax Guide (Publication KW-100, revised October 2024) lists severance pay among supplemental wages, with bonuses, commissions and back pay, and says Kansas withholding is required on all supplemental wage payments. The method depends on how the employer pays it: combined with regular wages or stated separately. Federal tax rules on severance are on our severance pay laws guide.

What a Kansas severance agreement can ask you to give up

We found no Kansas statute that sets a review or revocation period for a severance agreement, or that limits nondisclosure or non-disparagement terms in one. That rests on the Wage Payment Act sections we read and a title search of 2025-2026 bills, not a full-text search of the code.

Three Kansas rules still matter:

• Wages the employer admits it owes. Under K.S.A. 44-316(b), "any release required by an employer as a condition to payment shall be in violation of this act and shall be null and void," and accepting a payment of conceded wages does not release the rest unless it is made under a binding settlement agreement. An employer must pay conceded wages without conditions by the next regular payday (44-316(a)). This protects wages already earned; it does not address severance itself.
• Unemployment rights. Under K.S.A. 44-718(a), an agreement to waive or release your rights to Kansas unemployment benefits is not valid, and an employer may not require or accept such a waiver. A severance clause saying you will not file for unemployment does not bar a claim, though the severance itself can reduce benefits under 44-704(i).
• Workers' compensation. Under K.S.A. 44-531, a lump-sum settlement of workers' compensation liability requires approval by an administrative law judge. If you have a work-injury claim, ask how any release in the agreement treats it; see Kansas workers' compensation laws.

If you are 40 or older, federal law gives you at least 21 days to consider a release of age-discrimination claims (45 in a group layoff) and 7 days to revoke it after signing (29 U.S.C. 626(f)). Other federal limits on confidentiality terms are on our severance pay laws guide.

Non-compete terms in a severance agreement

We found no Kansas statute that bans employee non-competes. Under Kansas case law, a non-compete tied to an employment contract is valid and enforceable if the restraint is reasonable under the circumstances and not adverse to the public welfare, and such covenants are strictly construed against the employer (Weber v. Tillman, 259 Kan. 457 (1996)).

Recent changes and bills

No 2025-2026 Kansas bill on severance pay, plant-closing notice or the Wage Payment Act turned up in our title search, and nothing on those topics was enacted. Related bills that failed:

• Supplemental unemployment benefit plans: SB 229 and HB 2764 would have let the labor secretary approve employer-sponsored supplemental unemployment benefit plans, and SB 512 (2026) would have excluded payments under compliant plans from the definition of wages. SB 229 died in conference in 2026; the other two died in committee.
• HB 2688 (2026) would have made nondisclosure agreements unenforceable in disputes about childhood sexual abuse or human trafficking. It passed the House and died in a Senate committee.

Related

• Severance pay laws by state
• Kansas unemployment benefits
• Kansas final paycheck laws
• Kansas workers' compensation laws

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Kansas severance pay law (the Kansas Wage Payment Act, K.S.A. 44-313 to 44-324, and the unemployment rule in K.S.A. 44-704) and the federal laws that apply in Kansas. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 8, 2026. For advice about your situation, contact the Kansas Department of Labor, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Kansas.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is severance pay required by law in Kansas?

No Kansas statute we found requires it. Federal law does not require severance either, so in Kansas it is owed only when a contract, company policy or separation agreement promises it.

Does severance affect unemployment in Kansas?

Yes. K.S.A. 44-704(i) reduces weekly unemployment benefits by the amount of any separation, termination or severance payment paid to you at or after separation during the benefit year.

Does Kansas have a state WARN Act?

We found none. The Kansas Department of Commerce describes only the federal WARN Act, which requires 60 days' notice from employers with 100 or more full-time workers, or 100 or more workers who together work at least 4,000 hours a week.

Is severance considered wages in Kansas?

Kansas law does not say. K.S.A. 44-313(c) defines wages as compensation for labor or services rendered and does not mention severance, though the state withholding guide treats severance as a supplemental wage for tax withholding.

Who do I contact about unpaid severance in Kansas?

The Kansas Department of Labor administers the Wage Payment Act, and an employee may file a wage claim with the secretary of labor (K.S.A. 44-322a) or sue in court (K.S.A. 44-324(a)). Whether a severance promise counts as wages under the Act is unsettled, so a legal aid office or a Kansas-licensed lawyer can advise on the right path.

How long do I have to sign a severance agreement in Kansas?

We found no Kansas rule on review periods. If you are 40 or older, federal law gives at least 21 days to consider a release of age-discrimination claims (45 in a group layoff) and 7 days to revoke it after signing (29 U.S.C. 626(f)).