Guide for workers
The WARN Act: your right to advance notice
A federal law requires many employers to warn workers 60 days before a mass layoff or plant closing. Here is who it covers and what it gives you.
General information, not legal advice. Federal rules are summarized here with their sources; your state may give you more protection, and your situation may differ.
The short version
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires employers with 100 or more employees to give at least 60 calendar days of advance written notice of a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site. Managers, supervisors, hourly and salaried workers are all entitled to notice. (U.S. Department of Labor)
Who is covered
The 100-employee count generally leaves out people who have worked less than six months in the past 12 months and those who average less than 20 hours a week. Federal, state, local and federally recognized tribal government entities that provide public services are not covered. (U.S. Department of Labor)
Notice must also go to your union or other representative, the local chief elected official, and the state’s dislocated worker unit. That is why many layoffs show up first on state WARN lists.
What counts as a mass layoff
Under the law, a mass layoff is a reduction in force (not a plant closing) that, at a single site and within any 30-day period, causes an employment loss for either:
- at least 33 percent of the employees and at least 50 employees, or
- at least 500 employees.
Part-time employees are not counted toward these thresholds. An “employment loss” means a termination (other than a firing for cause, a voluntary departure or retirement), a layoff lasting more than six months, or hours cut by more than half in each month of a six-month period. (29 U.S.C. § 2101)
Exceptions
The law makes exceptions when layoffs result from unforeseeable business circumstances, for “faltering companies” trying to raise money to stay open, and for natural disasters. Whether an exception applies depends on the facts. (U.S. Department of Labor)
If you didn’t get notice
An employer that orders a covered closing or layoff without proper notice can be liable to each affected employee for back pay for each day of the violation, up to 60 days, plus the employee benefits they would have had, including medical costs a benefit plan would have covered. The U.S. Department of Labor administers WARN but does not seek damages for workers. Remedies are pursued through civil actions against the employer in federal court. (29 U.S.C. § 2104)
Your state may require more
Some states have their own plant-closing laws with lower thresholds or longer notice periods. We have checked the official text of these states’ laws, and link to each one (our state page where we have one, otherwise the official text): California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. For any other state, check with its dislocated worker unit, and see layoffs in your state.
Common questions
Who has to give WARN notice?
Generally, employers with 100 or more employees, not counting most workers employed less than six months in the past year or averaging under 20 hours a week. Federal, state and local government entities that provide public services are not covered.
How much notice is required?
At least 60 calendar days of advance written notice before a covered plant closing or mass layoff.
What if my employer didn’t give notice?
An employer that violates the law can be liable to each affected worker for back pay and benefits for each day of the violation, up to 60 days. The Department of Labor does not seek these damages on workers’ behalf; they are pursued through civil actions against the employer.
Next: file for unemployment and what to do in your first week.
Sources
- Plant Closings and Layoffs, U.S. Department of Labor
- 29 U.S. Code § 2101: Definitions; exclusions from definition of loss of employment, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- 29 U.S. Code § 2104: Administration and enforcement of requirements, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- WARN Act Compliance Assistance, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration