How It Works
Last updated: July 1, 2026
The Separation Index tracks how companies treat employees on the way out — from layoff notification to severance payment to outplacement support. Here is exactly how reports are submitted, scored, and published.
What we track
The Separation Index tracks four dimensions of employer behavior during workforce separations. Notice Quality measures how and when employees were informed — in-person, via email, on a group Zoom call, or by security escort. Severance Practice captures whether severance was offered, the amount relative to tenure, and whether it required signing an NDA or non-disparagement agreement. Outplacement Support records whether the company provided job placement assistance, extended benefits, or career transition resources. Communication Quality covers whether the company was transparent about the reasons for separation, timing, and next steps. These dimensions combine into a Separation Score.
Who submits reports
Reports are submitted by current and former employees who have been laid off, terminated, or separated from a company. Submitters are not required to create an account, but all submissions are reviewed for authenticity signals before publication. We do not accept reports from individuals who have not directly experienced the separation they are reporting on. Reports submitted while under NDA are the submitter's responsibility — we publish factual accounts of separation processes, not confidential business information.
The NDA notice
Before submitting a separation report, all users are shown a notice about NDA and non-disparagement agreement considerations. This notice cannot be skipped. We do not advise users to violate valid legal agreements. The notice reminds submitters that factual accounts of how a separation was handled — notice method, severance amount, benefits continuation — are generally not covered by NDAs, but that users should consult their agreement and if necessary a legal professional before submitting.
How reports are reviewed
Every submission passes through an automated integrity layer that checks for duplicate submissions, coordinated inauthentic patterns, and submissions that conflict with verified public data. Reports that pass integrity checks are published, typically within 24 to 48 hours of submission. Reports flagged for review are held pending editorial assessment. We do not edit the substance of reports — we publish them as submitted or not at all.
How Separation Scores are calculated
Separation Score is a composite of ratings across the four dimensions above, averaged across all confirmed reports for a company and weighted by recency. A higher score indicates better treatment of departing employees. Scores are updated in real time as new reports are submitted. Companies with fewer than 5 confirmed reports do not display public scores — scores are shown as provisional pending sufficient data.
Recency weighting
Reports submitted within the past 90 days carry full weight in score calculations. Reports between 91 and 365 days old carry 75% weight. Reports older than one year carry 50% weight. This ensures that scores reflect current employer behavior and that companies can improve their scores by changing their practices over time.
WARN Act data
The Separation Index tracks WARN Act layoff filings sourced directly from state labor agencies in California, Texas, and New Jersey. WARN Act data is public record — it is not user-submitted. Each filing shows the company, location, number of workers affected, filing date, layoff date, and whether the required 60-day advance notice was given. WARN Act filings are cross-referenced against active job postings on The Respect Index to identify companies hiring while simultaneously executing layoffs. All WARN Act data is attributed to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Severance Benchmark
The Severance Benchmark tool aggregates self-reported severance data to give employees and job seekers a sense of what severance packages look like by industry, company size, and tenure. The benchmark is informational only — it is not legal advice. Inputs are anonymous and aggregated. Individual submissions are never displayed publicly. The benchmark helps employees understand whether an offered severance package is consistent with market norms before they sign.
Company profiles
Every company in our database has a profile page showing its current Separation Score, total report count, WARN Act filing history, and a feed of published reports. Company data including headquarters, size, and industry is sourced from Wikidata and public filings. Companies do not pay to appear on the Platform, and scores cannot be purchased or improved through any commercial relationship with The Separation Index.
Good exits get recognized here
The Separation Index is not only a place to document bad exits — it is equally a place to recognize companies that treat departing employees with fairness and dignity. Every confirmed positive report raises a company's Separation Score. Companies that consistently demonstrate transparent communication, fair severance, and respectful processes score higher in the data — and that signal is visible to every employee who looks them up before accepting an offer or navigating a separation. A company that handled a layoff well, with real notice, real severance, and real support, should earn a higher score than one that did not. Submit a report even if your experience was a good one. That data matters.
What we are not
The Separation Index is not a background check service, an employment attorney, or a legal compliance auditor. Scores are opinions derived from user-submitted data. They are not audited, certified, or guaranteed to be accurate. Companies should not rely on scores as a legal assessment of their compliance with the WARN Act or other employment law. Employees should use our data as one resource among many when evaluating employers or assessing their options after a separation.