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

Wyoming law does not require employers to pay severance, and Wyoming has no state plant-closing or mass-layoff notice law. We searched the Legislature's full compiled text of Title 27 (Labor and Employment) and found no section that creates a duty to pay severance. The one Wyoming statute that speaks directly to severance pay is an unemployment rule: under W.S. 27-3-313(c), a severance payment can disqualify you from benefits for the week you receive it.

For the federal rules and how other states compare, 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 Wyoming law on severance pay: the absence of a state mandate or layoff-notice law, the wage payment and wage claim articles of Title 27, Chapter 4, and the unemployment rule in W.S. 27-3-313. Federal rules appear in short notes; the full federal layer is on our severance pay laws guide. For final pay deadlines, see Wyoming final paycheck laws; for benefit amounts, see Wyoming unemployment benefits.

Is severance pay required in Wyoming?

No Wyoming law we found requires it. We full-text searched the Legislature's compiled Title 27 for severance, dismissal pay, separation pay, plant closing and mass layoff. The only hits were the unemployment disqualification in W.S. 27-3-313(c) and two definitions that leave out dismissal payments an employer is "not obligated to make" (W.S. 27-3-102(a)(xviii)(D) and 27-14-102). None creates a duty to pay.

Our search covered Title 27 only, not public-employee or school-district statutes in other titles, and the compiled text carries no currency date. Federal law does not require severance either: the U.S. Department of Labor says "There is no requirement in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for severance pay."

Wyoming has no state WARN act

We found no Wyoming statute requiring advance notice of a layoff. The closest state rule is an unemployment-insurance filing, not a worker notice law. Under the Department of Workforce Services rule in chapter 21, section 1 (as published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute), a "Mass Separation" is the separation of "20 or more workers employed in a single establishment" at about the same time and for the same reason. The employer must file a mass separation notice with the department listing "the period and amount of termination, severance, sick, or earned vacation payments" for each employee, "not later than five calendar days after such separation." That filing helps the department process claims; it gives workers no advance notice and no pay.

Only federal WARN requires advance notice in Wyoming: 60 days' written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff, generally from employers with 100 or more full-time employees, with back pay and benefits for up to 60 days if the employer skips it (29 U.S.C. 2101-2102, 2104). Under 29 U.S.C. 2101(a)(1), that means 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. Our severance pay laws guide explains the thresholds.

Is promised severance covered by Wyoming wage law?

It is unresolved. For wage claims, W.S. 27-4-501(a)(iii) defines wages as "compensation, including fringe benefits, for labor or services rendered by an employee." Severance is not named, and we found no Wyoming court decision or agency statement on whether a promised severance payment fits that definition.

Two related provisions exist. W.S. 27-4-507(b) makes it unlawful to pay an employee less than the "wage, salary, or compensation" provided for or agreed upon in a collective bargaining agreement or a contract between employer and employee. W.S. 27-4-507(c) makes it unlawful to willfully, or with intent to defraud, fail to make agreed payments to "a health or welfare fund, pension fund, vacation plan, apprenticeship program, or other such employment benefits." Whether a severance promise falls within either is a question no source we read answers, so the safest reading is that severance is enforced as a contract promise and the state wage claim route is possible but unconfirmed.

When payment is due

When an employee quits or is discharged, W.S. 27-4-104(a) requires payment of "whatever wages are due" no later than "the employer's usual practice on regularly scheduled payroll dates" or a time set by a collective bargaining agreement. The section speaks only of wages due and does not say when severance is due, so the agreement sets that date. Final pay rules are on Wyoming final paycheck laws.

In a lawsuit for wages "earned and due," W.S. 27-4-104(b) says the court "shall allow" interest at 18 percent a year, a reasonable attorney fee and costs. No source we read applies that to severance.

Wage claims with the Department of Workforce Services

The Labor Standards division of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS) takes claims for unpaid wages under W.S. 27-4-502(a). It investigates and decides the claim, either side may request a hearing within 15 calendar days of the determination, and an employer that ignores a payment order faces a civil fine of up to $200 a day (W.S. 27-4-504). DWS says the time limit to file with the state is "two years from the date the wages were due."

The department's claim is capped at "two (2) months wages for any claims not arising out of bankruptcy, per employee per wage claim" (W.S. 27-4-502(a)), so a severance promise larger than that points to a court action. A court action to enforce a severance promise as a contract must be brought within ten years for a written agreement and eight years for one not in writing (W.S. 1-3-105(a)(i), (a)(ii)(A)); the two-year DWS deadline applies only to a claim filed with the state. DWS may also negotiate: "If the Department negotiates a lower amount than what you asked for, they will notify you. You have 10 days to object in writing." W.S. 27-4-502(b) bars retaliation for filing a wage claim.

How severance affects Wyoming unemployment benefits

Severance blocks or reduces Wyoming unemployment benefits for the week you receive it. W.S. 27-3-313(c) provides: "The individual shall be disqualified from benefit entitlement during any week for which the individual has filed a claim for benefits and remuneration is received as a severance payment, termination allowance, sick pay or earned vacation. If the remuneration decreased to the next lower multiple of one dollar ($1.00) is less than the weekly benefit amount, the amount of the payment shall be deducted from the amount of benefits the individual would otherwise be entitled to receive during that week."

In practice, a payment that equals or exceeds your weekly benefit amount for a week disqualifies that week, and a smaller payment is deducted dollar for dollar. Under 27-3-313(b), these payments are allocated under the department's rules; the rule we read (chapter 23, section 2) says that when several such payments arrive in one week and none alone reaches the weekly benefit amount, they are combined for that week. We did not find a rule explaining how a lump sum is spread across weeks, so ask DWS when you file. Benefit amounts are on our Wyoming unemployment benefits page.

What a Wyoming severance agreement can ask you to give up

Apart from the unemployment rule below, we found no statute in Title 27 that limits release, nondisclosure or non-disparagement terms in a separation agreement or sets a state review or revocation period. That rests on a search of Title 27, not the whole code. Wyoming's wage claim article has no anti-waiver clause, and we found no statute or case on whether a private release can waive an unpaid-wage or severance claim.

A release in a severance agreement cannot take away your right to unemployment benefits. Under W.S. 27-3-319(a), apart from the exceptions it lists, "any agreement to waive, release or commute benefit rights or any other rights under this act is void."

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

Non-compete terms in a severance agreement

For contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025, any covenant not to compete that restricts a person's right to be paid for skilled or unskilled labor is void (W.S. 1-23-108(a), added by 2025 Senate File 107). The ban does not reach a covenant in the sale of a business, one to the extent it protects trade secrets, limited repayment of relocation and training costs, or executive and management personnel and their professional staff, so a non-compete in a severance agreement signed now is generally void unless one of those exceptions fits.

Recent changes and bills

We scanned the titles of every 2025 and 2026 Wyoming bill and found none that creates a severance duty or a state layoff-notice law, or that amends W.S. 27-3-313, 27-4-104 or 27-4-501. Two unemployment bills that would have reduced maximum benefits failed: 2025 SF0175 and 2026 HB0006; neither appears to have touched the severance rule. A title scan can miss a bill whose title does not use those words, and 2027 bills were not checked.

• 2025 Senate File 107 (Chapter 170), enacted. Created the non-compete rule in W.S. 1-23-108 described above, effective July 1, 2025, for contracts entered into on and after that date.

Related

• Severance pay laws by state
• Wyoming final paycheck laws
• Wyoming unemployment benefits

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Wyoming severance pay law (the wage payment and wage claim articles of W.S. Title 27, Chapter 4, and the unemployment rules in W.S. 27-3-313 and 27-3-319) and the federal laws that apply in Wyoming. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on October 8, 2026. For advice about your situation, contact the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Wyoming.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is severance pay required by law in Wyoming?

No Wyoming statute we found requires it, and federal wage law does not either. Severance is owed only when a contract, policy or separation agreement promises it.

Does severance affect unemployment in Wyoming?

Yes. Under W.S. 27-3-313(c), you are disqualified for any claimed week in which you receive a severance payment, and a payment smaller than your weekly benefit amount is deducted from that week's benefit.

Does Wyoming have a state WARN Act?

No. Wyoming's mass separation rule only requires an employer to file a notice with the unemployment division within five calendar days after separating 20 or more workers. Federal WARN is the only advance-notice law.

Can I file a wage claim for unpaid severance in Wyoming?

Possibly, but it is unconfirmed. DWS takes claims for unpaid wages, which W.S. 27-4-501(a)(iii) defines to include fringe benefits, but no source says severance qualifies, and the claim is capped at two months' wages (W.S. 27-4-502(a)).

Can a Wyoming severance agreement make me give up unemployment benefits?

No. W.S. 27-3-319(a) says any agreement to waive, release or commute benefit rights is void, apart from the exceptions the section lists.

How long do I have to file a wage claim in Wyoming?

The Department of Workforce Services says the time limit for filing with the state is two years from the date the wages were due.