North Dakota Severance Pay Laws (2026): Is Severance Required?

No North Dakota statute we found requires an employer to pay severance, and North Dakota has no law of its own requiring an employer to give workers notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. Severance in North Dakota is owed only when a contract, company policy or separation agreement promises it. The state's wage collection law, NDCC chapter 34-14, governs when a departing employee's unpaid wages are due, but it does not say whether a severance promise counts as wages.

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 North Dakota law on severance pay: the absence of a state mandate or worker layoff-notice law, the Job Service mass-separation notice rule, the wage collection rules in NDCC chapter 34-14, and the unemployment rules in NDCC Title 52. Federal rules appear in short notes; the full federal layer is on our severance pay laws guide. For final pay deadlines, see North Dakota final paycheck laws; for benefit amounts, see North Dakota unemployment benefits.

Is severance pay required in North Dakota?

No North Dakota law we found requires it. We searched the full text of North Dakota Century Code Title 34 (Labor and Employment), chapters 34-02 through 34-16, and the unemployment chapters 52-01 and 52-06 for severance, separation pay, dismissal pay, plant closing and mass layoff. None of them requires an employer to pay severance. The U.S. Department of Labor says federal law does not require severance either; it is a matter of agreement between employer and employee.

We did not search every title of the code or every bill from the 2025 session, so treat this as what our review found rather than a guarantee. North Dakota is an at-will state; see North Dakota at-will employment laws.

North Dakota layoff notice rules

North Dakota has no WARN-style law requiring notice to workers, or pay in lieu of notice, before a plant closing or mass layoff. The Department of Labor and Human Rights' list of Title 34 chapters contains no such chapter.

A Job Service North Dakota rule does require notice to the agency. When an employer lays off 25 or more workers at one establishment, permanently, indefinitely or for an expected seven days or more, it must notify the nearest Job Service office 48 hours before the layoff starts, or within 48 hours after it starts if the employer had no advance knowledge (N.D. Admin. Code 27-03-02-02). That rule gives workers no right to notice or pay. The federal WARN Act is the only law requiring advance notice to employees.

Federal WARN covers employers with 100 or more employees not counting part-time employees, or 100 or more employees, counting part-time workers, who together work at least 4,000 hours a week not counting 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 North Dakota?

North Dakota law does not answer this directly, and we found no North Dakota Supreme Court decision on it. The wage collection chapter, 34-14, has no definition of wages. A separate chapter, 34-06, defines wages as including "all payments made to or on behalf of an employee as remuneration for employment" (NDCC 34-06-01(6)), and NDCC 34-14-09 lets the department collect claims under either chapter. Whether a severance promise fits that definition has not been settled in any source we found.

Two clues point in different directions. The Department of Labor and Human Rights' claim for wages form (SFN 17081) lists unpaid time worked, overtime, minimum wage, vacation time, bonus and commission, but not severance. And a department rule treats earned paid time off as wages: "Paid time off, once earned or awarded, is considered wages upon separation from employment" (N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07-02(12)). No similar rule covers severance.

When wages are due after a discharge

NDCC 34-14-03 says that when an employee is discharged, "the employee's unpaid wages or compensation becomes due and payable at the regular paydays established in advance by the employer for the periods worked by the employee." Payment goes by certified mail to the address the employee designates unless the two agree otherwise. If the employer defaults, the employee may collect daily wages at the contract rate for each day of default, but "the employee shall cease to draw wages or salary thirty days after such default." Employers must set paydays at least monthly (NDCC 34-14-02).

The statute does not mention severance, so the payment date for severance comes from the agreement or policy that promises it. Final-wage timing is covered in North Dakota final paycheck laws.

Filing a wage claim

The North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights takes wage claims filed within two years of the date the wages are due, for amounts of at least $125 and not more than $15,000 (NDCC 34-14-09(1)). Claims under $125 are referred to small claims court and claims over $15,000 to district court. Filing a claim with the department pauses the two-year limitation period in NDCC 34-01-13.

On a valid claim, NDCC 34-14-09.1 adds interest on the unpaid wages, and double or treble damages against employers with prior wage claims found against them. Because the claim form does not list severance, ask the department whether it will take a claim for promised severance before relying on it.

A lawsuit for breach of a written or oral promise of severance generally must be filed within six years (NDCC 28-01-16). A suit for amounts owed under laws respecting the payment of wages must be filed within two years (NDCC 34-01-13). Because we found no North Dakota decision on which period applies to severance, the two-year date is the safer one to plan around.

Severance and North Dakota unemployment benefits

North Dakota law does not say expressly how severance affects unemployment benefits. For unemployment purposes, "wages" means "all remuneration for service from whatever source" (NDCC 52-01-01(31)), and the only dismissal-payment exclusion in that definition covers payments made before December 31, 1951.

NDCC 52-06-06 reduces the weekly benefit by the part of any wages payable for the week that exceeds 60% of the weekly benefit amount, and it says "wages are payable with respect to the weeks for which they were reasonably intended to be payable, irrespective of whether services were performed in those weeks." Job Service North Dakota's glossary defines severance pay as "Payment given to an employee by an employer when the employee is separated from employment."

We could not open Job Service North Dakota guidance on how it treats severance on a claim (a lump sum, continued salary or pay in lieu of notice), so we cannot say in which weeks, if any, it reduces benefits. Report any severance when you file and ask the agency. Benefit amounts and filing are covered in North Dakota unemployment benefits.

What a North Dakota severance agreement can ask you to give up

We found no North Dakota statute that sets a review period for a severance agreement or limits release, nondisclosure or non-disparagement terms in one. That rests on a text search of Title 34 chapters 34-02, 34-03 and 34-14, not the whole code.

A release in a severance agreement cannot take away your right to unemployment benefits. Under NDCC 52-06-31, "No agreement by any individual to waive, release, or commute the individual's rights to benefits or any other rights under the North Dakota unemployment compensation law is valid," and the same section bars an employer from requiring or accepting any waiver of those rights from its employees.

On wage claims, NDCC 34-14-04 says that accepting an undisputed payment "does not constitute a release as to the balance of the claim." We found no North Dakota statute or case on whether a general severance release can waive a wage claim.

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 are on our severance pay laws guide.

Non-compete terms in a severance agreement

North Dakota law makes a contract that restrains anyone from exercising a lawful profession, trade or business void to that extent, with exceptions for the sale of a business's goodwill and for partners, members or shareholders on dissolution or sale of an ownership interest (NDCC 9-08-06). A non-compete in an ordinary employee's severance agreement generally falls under that rule.

Recent changes and bills

We found no 2024-2026 North Dakota enactment on severance, layoff notice or separation agreements. The Legislative Assembly meets in odd-numbered years; the next regular session begins in January 2027, and we did not review bills filed for it.

Related

• Severance pay laws by state
• North Dakota final paycheck laws
• North Dakota unemployment benefits
• North Dakota at-will employment laws

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about North Dakota severance pay law (the wage collection rules in NDCC chapter 34-14 and the unemployment rules in NDCC Title 52) and the federal laws that apply in North Dakota. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 8, 2026. For advice about your situation, contact the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights, Job Service North Dakota, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in North Dakota.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is severance pay required by law in North Dakota?

No North Dakota statute we found requires it, and federal law does not require severance either. In North Dakota, severance is owed only when a contract, company policy or separation agreement promises it.

Does North Dakota have a state WARN Act?

North Dakota has no state law requiring notice to workers. A Job Service North Dakota rule requires employers to notify the agency of a layoff of 25 or more workers at one establishment 48 hours before it starts (N.D. Admin. Code 27-03-02-02), but that rule gives workers no right to notice or pay. The federal WARN Act still requires covered employers to give 60 days' written notice before a covered plant closing or mass layoff (29 U.S.C. 2102(a)).

Can I file a wage claim for unpaid severance in North Dakota?

The Department of Labor and Human Rights takes wage claims of $125 to $15,000 filed within two years of the date wages are due (NDCC 34-14-09). North Dakota law does not say whether promised severance counts as wages, and the claim form does not list it, so ask the department before relying on that route.

Does severance affect unemployment in North Dakota?

North Dakota law does not say so expressly. NDCC 52-06-06 reduces weekly benefits by wages payable for a week above 60% of the weekly benefit amount, but we could not confirm how Job Service North Dakota applies that to severance, so report it and ask the agency.

Can a severance agreement make me give up unemployment benefits in North Dakota?

No. NDCC 52-06-31 says no agreement to waive, release or commute your rights to unemployment benefits is valid, and an employer may not require or accept such a waiver.

Is unused vacation treated like severance in North Dakota?

No. A Department of Labor and Human Rights rule says paid time off, once earned or awarded, is wages upon separation (N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07-02(12)); no comparable rule addresses severance.