WARN Act (US)
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, a federal law that requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 calendar days' advance written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 50 or more workers at a single site.
What Is the WARN Act?
Key Takeaways
- ✓The WARN Act requires covered employers to provide 60 calendar days' advance written notice to affected employees, their union representatives, the state dislocated worker unit, and the chief elected official of local government before a plant closing or mass layoff.
- ✓It applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees, or 100 or more employees (including part-time) who work a combined total of at least 4,000 hours per week.
- ✓A 'plant closing' means a shutdown of a single site (or operating unit within a site) resulting in 50+ employees losing their jobs during any 30-day period.
- ✓A 'mass layoff' means a layoff at a single site affecting 50-499 employees if they represent at least 33% of the workforce, or 500+ employees regardless of percentage.
- ✓The penalty for violating the WARN Act is back pay and benefits for each day of the violation period, up to 60 days, plus a civil penalty of up to $500 per day payable to the local government that didn't receive notice.
The WARN Act exists because mass layoffs destroy communities. When a factory closes or a company eliminates hundreds of jobs, workers need time to prepare. Time to look for new jobs, retrain, arrange childcare, adjust family budgets, and access government retraining programs. The WARN Act gives them 60 days of advance notice. The law was passed in 1988 after a wave of plant closings devastated industrial communities. Companies were shutting down factories on Friday afternoon and telling workers not to come back on Monday. Entire towns built around a single employer lost their economic base overnight. WARN didn't prevent closings, but it gave workers and communities a buffer. For HR teams, WARN compliance is critical during reductions in force. The 60-day notice requirement means you can't decide on a layoff and execute it the next week. You must plan ahead, count heads carefully, determine who gets notice and when, and coordinate with state and local officials. The counting rules are where most violations occur. Employers aggregate layoffs over a 90-day period to prevent companies from splitting a mass layoff into multiple smaller layoffs to avoid the trigger.
WARN Act Coverage Thresholds
Both the employer and the specific event must meet threshold requirements for the WARN Act to apply.
Covered employers
The WARN Act covers private, for-profit and non-profit employers with 100 or more full-time employees, or 100 or more employees (full-time and part-time combined) who work a combined total of at least 4,000 hours per week (excluding overtime). Federal, state, and local government employers are excluded. The employee count includes all employees at all sites, not just the site where the layoff occurs. A company with 300 employees spread across five locations is covered, even if no single location has 100 employees.
Plant closing triggers
A plant closing that triggers WARN occurs when an employer shuts down a single site of employment (or one or more operating units within a site) and the shutdown results in an 'employment loss' for 50 or more employees (excluding part-time workers) during any 30-day period. 'Employment loss' means termination (other than for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement), a layoff exceeding six months, or a reduction in work hours of more than 50% during each month of any six-month period.
Mass layoff triggers
A mass layoff that triggers WARN occurs at a single site when: (1) at least 50-499 employees are laid off AND those employees represent at least 33% of the active workforce at the site, OR (2) at least 500 employees are laid off, regardless of the percentage of the workforce they represent. Part-time employees are excluded from the count of affected employees but are included in the total workforce count for the 33% calculation.
The 90-day aggregation rule
This is the anti-evasion provision. If an employer conducts multiple smaller layoffs at a single site within a 90-day period, and individually none of them would trigger WARN, but together they would, the layoffs are aggregated and WARN notice is required. For example, laying off 30 employees on March 1 and 25 more on April 15 at the same site wouldn't individually trigger WARN (neither group hits 50). But combined, 55 employees lost their jobs within 90 days at the same site, which triggers the mass layoff provision if it also meets the 33% threshold.
WARN Act Notice Requirements
The WARN Act requires written notice to four parties, and the notice must contain specific information.
| Notice Recipient | Required Content | Delivery Method | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affected employees (non-union) | Expected date of layoff, whether it may be permanent or temporary, bumping rights if any, name and contact for company information | Written, delivered directly to the employee (not general posting) | At least 60 calendar days before the layoff |
| Union representatives (if unionized) | Name and address of site, nature of planned action, expected date, job titles affected, number of affected employees by title | Written to the chief elected officer of each union | At least 60 calendar days before the layoff |
| State dislocated worker unit | Name and address of the site, company contact, nature of action, whether the closing/layoff is permanent or temporary, expected date, job titles and number affected | Written to the appropriate state agency | At least 60 calendar days before the layoff |
| Local government chief elected official | Same content as state notice: name and address of site, company contact, nature and date of action, job titles and numbers affected | Written to the chief elected local government official (mayor, county executive) | At least 60 calendar days before the layoff |
WARN Act Exceptions
The WARN Act provides three narrow exceptions that reduce (but don't eliminate) the 60-day notice requirement. Even when an exception applies, the employer must provide as much notice as practicable and explain the reason for the reduced notice.
Faltering company exception (plant closings only)
This exception applies only to plant closings (not mass layoffs). The employer must demonstrate that: it was actively seeking capital or business that would have avoided or postponed the shutdown, it reasonably and in good faith believed that providing the 60-day notice would have prevented it from obtaining the needed capital or business, and the employer gives as much notice as practicable. This exception is narrowly construed. Vague hopes of finding a buyer or investor aren't enough. The employer must identify specific, realistic prospects that would have been deterred by a public WARN notice.
Unforeseeable business circumstances
This exception applies to both plant closings and mass layoffs. The employer must show that the closing or layoff was caused by 'business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable' at the time the 60-day notice would have been required. Examples include a sudden, unexpected loss of a major client, an unexpected economic downturn, or a natural disaster. The test is objective: what would a reasonable employer in the same industry have foreseen? A gradual decline in orders over several months isn't unforeseeable. The sudden cancellation of a contract worth 60% of revenue might be.
Natural disaster exception
This exception applies to plant closings and mass layoffs directly caused by natural disasters: floods, earthquakes, droughts, storms, tidal waves, and similar events. The disaster must be the direct cause of the closing or layoff. If a factory was already planning to close and a hurricane hits three weeks before the planned date, the natural disaster exception doesn't apply because the hurricane didn't cause the closing. Even under this exception, the employer must give as much notice as practicable.
WARN Act Penalties
WARN violations result in per-employee, per-day liability that can accumulate rapidly in large layoffs.
| Penalty Type | Amount | Who It's Paid To | Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back pay | Regular rate of pay for each day of the violation | Each affected employee | Up to 60 days x daily pay rate x number of affected employees |
| Benefits | Cost of benefits the employee would have received | Each affected employee or benefit plan | Value of medical, dental, life insurance premiums for up to 60 days |
| Civil penalty | Up to $500 per day of violation | Local government that didn't receive notice | Maximum of $500/day x 60 days = $30,000 |
| Attorney fees | Reasonable attorney fees and costs | Prevailing employee(s) | Awarded by the court |
State WARN Laws (Mini-WARN Acts)
Many states have enacted their own WARN-style laws with lower thresholds, longer notice periods, or broader coverage than the federal WARN Act.
| State | Notice Period | Coverage Threshold | Key Differences from Federal WARN |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 60 days | 75+ employees | Lower threshold (75 vs 100), covers relocations, includes part-time in counts |
| New York | 90 days | 50+ employees | Longer notice period (90 vs 60 days), lower threshold, broader definition of layoff |
| New Jersey | 90 days | 100+ employees (plus seasonal triggers) | 90-day notice, mandatory severance pay (1 week per year of service) |
| Illinois | 60 days | 75+ employees | Lower threshold, broader definition of employment loss |
| Tennessee | 60 days | 50-99 employees | Specifically covers smaller employers not covered by federal WARN |
| Wisconsin | 60 days | 50+ employees | Lower threshold, covers business closings, mass layoffs, and relocations |
| Maryland | 90 days (voluntary) | 50+ employees | Voluntary compliance law with incentives for providing notice |
WARN Act Compliance Checklist for HR Teams
Use this checklist when planning any reduction in force to determine whether the WARN Act applies and ensure proper compliance.
- Count all employees across all sites to determine if the 100-employee threshold is met. Include part-time employees in the total but track their hours separately.
- Identify the single site of employment where the layoffs will occur. If multiple sites are affected, analyze each site separately.
- Count the number of employees who will experience an 'employment loss' at the affected site during any 30-day period. Exclude voluntary departures, terminations for cause, and retirements.
- Check the 90-day aggregation rule: look 90 days forward and backward from the planned layoff date for any other employment losses at the same site that should be aggregated.
- Determine if a plant closing trigger (50+ job losses from a shutdown) or mass layoff trigger (50-499 at 33%+ or 500+) is met.
- Check applicable state WARN laws, which may have lower thresholds and longer notice periods.
- If WARN applies, prepare written notices for all four required recipients: affected employees, union representatives, state dislocated worker unit, and local government chief elected official.
- Send notices at least 60 days before the planned layoff date (or longer if state law requires). Use a delivery method that creates a record of receipt.
- Document the business rationale for the layoff and retain records of all WARN-related communications for at least three years.
- If relying on an exception (faltering company, unforeseeable circumstances, natural disaster), document the factual basis thoroughly and provide as much notice as practicable with an explanation.
WARN Act Statistics [2026]
Data on WARN Act filings and mass layoff events in the US.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the WARN Act require severance pay?
Does the WARN Act apply to layoffs caused by a pandemic or economic downturn?
Do remote workers count toward the single-site-of-employment threshold?
Can employees waive their WARN Act rights?
What's the difference between a layoff and a plant closing under WARN?
Written by Adithyan RK