If you’ve been laid off and part of your pay includes stock options, you need to know what stays with you, what gets taken away and how quickly you have to act. These decisions don’t always come with clear explanations, and small details in your paperwork can make or break your claim. Here’s what you need to know before your rights disappear.
Vested options are yours, but not forever
You get to keep stock options that have already vested by the time you’re laid off, but most plans give you just 90 days to use them. If you don’t act within that window, the options expire, and with them, any upside you were counting on. That deadline can vary depending on your agreement, but it’s rarely generous.
Unvested options usually get forfeited
Anything that hasn’t vested is typically off the table the moment you’re no longer employed. It doesn’t matter how close you were to the next vesting date — if it hasn’t hit, it’s gone. While some executive-level contracts include acceleration clauses, that kind of protection is the exception, not the rule.
Your agreement decides what you’re allowed to keep
The only way to know where you stand is to check your stock option agreement. That document lays out how long you have to exercise, whether layoffs are treated differently than firings and how the company handles “cause” language. Even one word can change what you walk away with, so read it closely before you make any moves.
Don’t wait for your rights to expire
If you don’t already know what’s vested, what your deadlines are or how your contract affects your options, now’s the time to find out. Pull your plan documents, get clear on the terms and talk to someone if you’re not sure how it all fits together, because once that window closes, you don’t get a second shot.