The Fair Layoff Pledge is a public commitment from employers to lay people off with honesty, clear information and real help finding what comes next.
Each of these is a planning problem, and the five promises plan for each one.
Too many people learn they've lost their job from a locked account, a mass video call or a rumor. Then they wait days for the details that decide their next month.
42%
of laid-off workers were told virtually, not in person.
ZipRecruiter survey of 2,000+ laid-off US workers, January 2023
34%
heard the news first through gossip. Only 27% heard it from their manager or HR.
26%
rise in active disengagement among the people who stay.
Having an hour to say goodbye, you feel like a number.
Brittney Ball, laid off by Meta. Business Insider, September 2026
It was really a cold, gross letter with a link to the off-boarding.
A laid-off Google employee. Fortune, January 2023
I went to go sign into the VPN, and the VPN was like, ‘this user doesn't exist anymore.’
A laid-off Oracle employee. TechCrunch, May 2026
The people you let go talk about how it went, and so do the people who stay.
Careerminds sells outplacement services, so read its numbers as one company's survey.
69%
of employees have shared, or would share, a bad layoff experience online, on LinkedIn, Glassdoor or Reddit.
Careerminds survey of 1,000 people at large US organizations, March 2026
40%
of HR leaders say their layoffs pushed up voluntary turnover among the people who stayed.
$3.5M
settlement approved in 2026 against a company that laid people off without the 60 days' notice the WARN Act requires of employers with 100 or more employees.
What every employer that signs commits to, for every person it lays off.
Everyone we lay off hears it from a person, on the same day, in plain words.
People leave the meeting with their dates, their pay and any severance terms on paper.
We help people find what comes next, and we don't fight their unemployment claims.
People keep what they need to look for work, and nobody has to come back for a box.
We give notice as early as we can, and we don't cut pay off over the holidays.
Call the state's Rapid Response team. Fill in a last-day sheet for each person. Get the severance terms ready to hand over.
A soft landingA manager tells people one-on-one or in a small group, in plain words: the decision, the last day and the reason. It takes about 15 minutes.
A person tells you, plainlyThe sheet and any severance terms go home with them. A written follow-up email arrives that day, and there's time to save files and say goodbye.
Everything in writing, on the dayBelongings ship home. The laptop stays with them where it can. One named person answers questions for 90 days.
Your things and your recordsSigning costs nothing. You get the tools to keep the promises.
Facing a layoff? These are fair things to ask for, whether or not your employer has signed.
Most employers have never been asked. Send HR a short note, or share the pledge.
Hi,
I came across the Fair Layoff Pledge: five promises employers make about how they lay people off. A person tells you, plainly. Everything in writing on the day. Help finding what comes next. Your things and records looked after. Pay through the holidays.
It's free to sign, and it comes with a sheet builder and a meeting script. Could we take a look?
https://fairlayoffs.org
Thanks.
We check every signature before it goes into the directory.
More help, free: jobseekersunion.org/get-hired