California is an 'at will' governed state, which means non-contracted employees may be terminated at any times if in the bounds of legal terminations. Because of this a California employment contract is important to ensure job security. The contract may not waive any federal or state mandated employee rights. If severance is included in the contract, it should be created as to also allow the reception of unemployment compensation. In California, employees of business with 2 to 19 employees may be eligible for 36 months of coverage. This coverage is reduced to only 18 months for employers of 20 or more employees.