If you are reading this, you are probably one of thousands of people who just got news no one wants to receive. Take a breath. The first week after a layoff feels like emotional whiplash, but the actions you take in those first seven days have an outsized impact on your financial cushion, your benefits, and how quickly you land your next role. This guide walks through exactly what to do, in order, with links to the federal and state resources you will need along the way.
This guide is written for Spirit Airlines employees specifically — flight attendants, pilots, gate agents, ground crew, dispatchers, mechanics, and HQ staff — but the playbook applies to anyone who just lost a job through no fault of their own.
Before you do anything else, sit down with your separation paperwork and read every page. You are looking for four things: your last day worked, your severance terms, the deadline for any decisions Spirit is asking you to make, and whether you were asked to sign a release or non-disparagement agreement.
If you were asked to sign anything in exchange for severance, you do not have to sign it on the spot. Federal law gives workers age 40 and over at least 21 days to consider a severance agreement (and 7 days to revoke after signing) under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act. Younger workers do not have a federally mandated review window, but most companies still provide one. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a clear breakdown of severance waiver rights that is worth reading before you sign.
Make a copy of every document, ideally a digital scan plus a printed version. You will reference these throughout the next year — for unemployment, taxes, healthcare enrollment, and possibly future employers verifying your claim of being laid off (rather than terminated for cause).
This is non-negotiable, and the timing matters. Most states do not backdate unemployment claims, which means every day you delay filing is a day of benefits you simply forfeit.
Unemployment is administered at the state level, not federally. To file, you go through your state's labor or workforce agency. The U.S. Department of Labor's CareerOneStop unemployment finder will route you to the correct state portal in seconds. The Department of Labor also maintains a general unemployment insurance overview that explains eligibility rules.
You will need: your Social Security number, driver's license or state ID, your Spirit Airlines employer information (legal entity name, address, dates of employment), and your bank routing and account numbers if you want direct deposit.
One often-missed detail: severance pay can affect when your unemployment benefits start, but in most states it does not reduce the total amount you receive. File anyway and let the state determine the start date.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to give 60 calendar days of advance written notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. If Spirit gave you less than 60 days notice and the layoff qualifies as a covered event under WARN, you may be entitled to back pay and benefits for the days of notice you did not receive.
Read the Department of Labor's official WARN Act page and download the Employer's Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs from the DOL — it is the same document the lawyers use, and it will tell you exactly what your employer was required to provide.
Several states (including California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey) have stricter "mini-WARN" laws with longer notice periods or broader coverage. If you worked at a Spirit hub or HQ in one of those states, your protections may be greater than the federal floor. A consultation with an employment attorney is often free for an initial review, and many take WARN cases on contingency.
Most laid-off employees default to COBRA because it is the option HR mentions first. COBRA lets you keep your existing employer plan, but you pay the entire premium plus a 2% administrative fee — often $700 to $2,000 per month for a family. There is almost always a better option.
Losing employer coverage triggers a Special Enrollment Period on the federal Marketplace, giving you 60 days to enroll in an Affordable Care Act plan. Visit HealthCare.gov's coverage page for the unemployed, which walks through your options. With your reduced household income, you will likely qualify for substantial premium tax credits — often making Marketplace plans dramatically cheaper than COBRA.
Also worth checking: if your spouse or partner has employer coverage, your job loss is a qualifying event for them to add you to their plan immediately. And if your household income drops below state Medicaid thresholds, you may qualify for free or near-free coverage. The Marketplace application screens for Medicaid eligibility automatically.
Severance pay is treated by the IRS as supplemental wages, not regular salary. Per IRS Topic No. 418, federal income tax is typically withheld at a flat 22% rate (or 37% if your supplemental wages exceed $1 million), plus Social Security and Medicare. Unemployment benefits are also federally taxable, though some states exempt them.
If you receive a lump sum severance late in the year, it can push you into a higher tax bracket for that year. A short conversation with a tax professional — or a careful read of IRS Publication 525 on taxable and nontaxable income — can help you decide whether to make estimated tax payments to avoid an underpayment penalty next April.
If Spirit had a 401(k) plan, do not cash it out. Roll it into an IRA or your next employer's plan. The IRS imposes a 10% early withdrawal penalty in addition to ordinary income tax if you cash out before age 59½, and the long-term cost of breaking the compound growth is enormous.
This sequence matters. Recruiters source candidates on LinkedIn first; they read resumes second. A current, keyword-rich LinkedIn profile dramatically increases the number of inbound recruiter messages you receive while you are between roles.
Update your headline to reflect what you do, not just where you worked. "Customer Experience Leader | Aviation Operations | Safety-Trained" is far stronger than "Former Flight Attendant at Spirit Airlines." Add the #OpenToWork banner; LinkedIn data shows it can increase recruiter outreach by up to 40%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes detailed occupational pages for airline roles that contain the exact terminology you should be using. The BLS Flight Attendants outlook, BLS Pilots outlook, and BLS Aircraft Mechanics outlook are goldmines for resume and LinkedIn keywords. Borrow their language.
By the end of week one, you should have a resume optimized for the Applicant Tracking Systems that screen 75% of applications before a human ever sees them. A resume that worked when you were promoted internally at Spirit will not necessarily perform on the open market.
The key changes most laid-off airline employees need to make:
If you want a much deeper guide to translating airline experience for non-airline employers, our companion piece From Spirit to Your Next Career: Translating Airline Skills for Any Industry walks through every major role at Spirit and how to position it for hiring managers in adjacent industries.
Resist the urge to apply to 50 jobs by Friday. Applying with a poorly tuned resume and an outdated LinkedIn is worse than applying a week later with both polished — you only get one chance to be screened by each ATS, and rejected applications are typically tagged in the system for 6 to 12 months. Slow down. Get the foundation right, then apply.
Also skip retraining and certification programs in the first week. The instinct to immediately enroll in coding bootcamp or get a real estate license is normal, but the data is clear: most laid-off workers find their next role in a closely adjacent industry, not a totally new one. Burn the first month finding out what the market actually wants from someone with your background before spending money on retraining.
File within the first week. Unemployment benefits do not backdate in most states, so every day you wait is a day of benefits you forfeit. Use your state's official unemployment portal — find yours at CareerOneStop.org, a Department of Labor resource.
The federal WARN Act generally requires employers with 100 or more employees to give 60 days notice for mass layoffs or plant closings affecting 50 or more workers at a single site. If you received less notice, you may be entitled to back pay and benefits for the missing notice period. Confirm your specific situation with the Department of Labor or an employment attorney.
Severance pay is treated as supplemental wages by the IRS. Federal income tax is typically withheld at a flat 22% rate, plus Social Security and Medicare taxes. You will receive a W-2 for severance just like regular wages.
No. A job loss qualifies as a Special Enrollment Period, meaning you can enroll in a Marketplace health plan at HealthCare.gov within 60 days. For most laid-off workers, Marketplace plans with subsidies are dramatically cheaper than COBRA, which charges full premium plus a 2% administrative fee.
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