What Is the WARN Act — and Does It Apply to My Layoff?

The Quick Version

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law that requires large employers to give workers 60 days' advance written notice before a mass layoff or plant closure. If your employer violates it, you may be entitled to up to 60 days of back pay and benefits — regardless of any severance they offer.

It doesn't apply to every layoff. Here is how to know if it applies to yours.

Who Must Comply With the WARN Act

The WARN Act applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees, or 100 or more employees who together work at least 4,000 hours per week. Part-time employees (fewer than 20 hours per week) are generally not counted when determining whether an employer meets the threshold.

If your employer has fewer than 100 employees, the federal WARN Act does not apply — but your state may have its own "mini-WARN" law with lower thresholds. States with their own versions include California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and several others, and their rules are often stricter than the federal law.

What Triggers WARN Act Notice Requirements

Not every layoff triggers WARN. The Act applies when:

• Plant closing: A facility employing 50 or more full-time workers is shut down for more than 6 months, resulting in employment loss for 50 or more employees
• Mass layoff: A reduction at a single site affecting either (a) 500 or more full-time employees, or (b) 50–499 full-time employees if they represent at least 33% of the active workforce

Temporary layoffs and strikes are generally excluded, though temporary layoffs that extend beyond 6 months can trigger WARN retroactively.

What You Are Owed If the WARN Act Is Violated

If your employer was required to give 60 days' notice and failed to do so, each affected employee is entitled to:

• Back pay for each day of the violation, up to 60 days
• Benefits continuation — including medical expenses that would have been covered — for the violation period
• A civil penalty of up to $500 per day payable to the local government

This amount is in addition to any severance your employer offers. If they gave you two weeks' notice instead of 60 days, you may be owed approximately 44 days of pay and benefits on top of your severance package.

The Three Exceptions: When Employers Can Skip Notice

The WARN Act allows employers to provide less than 60 days' notice — but only in three narrow circumstances:

• Faltering company: The company was actively seeking capital or business to avoid the closure, and giving notice would have hurt those efforts
• Unforeseeable business circumstances: A sudden, dramatic change caused the layoff — such as losing a major contract unexpectedly
• Natural disaster: The layoff was directly caused by a flood, earthquake, or similar event

Employers frequently invoke these exceptions, and courts frequently reject them. "We didn't know layoffs were coming" is a high bar to meet, and employers claiming it often have internal documents showing the layoff was planned well in advance.

How to Check If You Are Covered

To assess your WARN Act situation, you need to know: (1) how many employees your employer has, (2) how many employees were let go in the same layoff round, and (3) whether your employer gave you written notice and when it was dated.

The notice is required to be in writing and must include specific information: the expected date of layoff, whether the layoff is permanent or temporary, and the name and address of the state dislocated worker unit to contact.

State Mini-WARN Laws to Know

Several states have significantly broader WARN-style protections:

• California: Applies to employers with 75+ employees. Covers layoffs of 50 or more workers at a single location, regardless of percentage of workforce.
• New York: Applies to employers with 50+ employees. Covers layoffs of 25+ workers. Requires 90 days' notice — not 60.
• New Jersey: Has a "WARN Act" requiring severance pay even when proper notice is given.