Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

The WARN Act ensures employees, unions, and government officials receive advance notice of mass layoffs or plant closings.

The WARN Act protects workers, their families, and communities from the sudden disruption caused by plant closings or mass layoffs. The WARN Act gives workers time to prepare for the transition by seeking new employment or retraining opportunities.

A “mass layoff” is a reduction in force at a single site of employment affecting a significant number of employees within a 30-day period.

It involves either:

• At least 33% of active employees (excluding part-time workers) and at least 50 employees, or
• At least 500 employees (excluding part-time workers), regardless of the percentage of the workforce.

Employers cannot get around the law by splitting a large layoff into smaller layoffs stretched out over a longer period of time to avoid giving employees the notice required under the WARN Act. Separate layoffs occurring within any 90-day period may be combined and treated as if they all occurred within the statutory 30-day period, which will trigger notice requirements. Employers must follow the WARN Act unless the employer can demonstrate that the layoffs were caused by separate and distinct reasons.

A “plant closing” is the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or distinct units within it, resulting in an employment loss for 50 or more employees.

A plant closing can involve:

• Shutting down an entire facility or location.
• Closing a distinct operating unit within a larger site, such as a specific department or production line.
• The shutdown can be either permanent or temporary, but it must result in employment losses for 50 or more full-time employees within a 30-day window.

Employers that meet these thresholds must give affected employees at least 60 days’ written notice before the closing occurs, unless a specific exception applies.

Employment loss includes termination (except for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement), a layoff exceeding six months, or a reduction of work hours by more than 50% during each month for six months.

An “employment loss” is broadly defined and can happen in several ways:

• Termination: If an employee is permanently separated from the company, except for voluntary resignations, retirements, or terminations for cause.

• Layoff: If an employee is laid off for a period exceeding six months.

• Reduction in Hours: If an employee’s hours are reduced by more than 50% in each month over a six-month period.

If a sufficient number of employees experience an “employment loss” at a single site of employment, an employer must comply with WARN Act notice requirements.

Did You Know? At-will employees are also entitled to 60 days’ notice if the WARN Act applies. Even though at-will employment usually allows termination without notice, the WARN Act creates an important exception.

With few exceptions, employers with at least 100 full-time employees, or 100 employees who work a combined total of at least 4,000 hours per week (excluding overtime) are covered by the WARN Act.

Not every employer is subject to the WARN Act. The WARN Act applies to:

• Private for-profit businesses
• Private non-profit organizations
• Public and quasi-public entities that operate in a commercial context (like utilities or mass transit agencies)

Federal, state, and local government employers are not covered by the WARN Act.

Employees are protected by the WARN Act if they work for a covered employer with either:

• 100 or more full-time employees
• 100 or more employees (including part-timers) who collectively work at least 4,000 hours per week (excluding overtime).

Separate business entities can sometimes be considered a “single employer” under the WARN Act based on factors like shared ownership, operations, or control.

Employers must provide at least 60 days’ advance written notice.

If a covered employer is planning a qualifying mass layoff or plant shutdown, they must provide affected employees and employee representatives (like union officials) with written notice at least 60 days before the employment action takes place.

• Notice must be in writing—verbal notice is not enough.
• The 60-day clock starts when proper notice is given, not when the event is announced informally.

There are limited exceptions where less than 60 days’ notice may be allowed, such as unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disasters, or if the business is actively seeking capital or buyers. Even when these exceptions apply, employers must still give as much notice as is practicable and explain the reasons for the shortened notice period.

Employers can also pay workers 60 days’ pay in lieu of notice. Doing this basically achieves the purpose of the notice period.

No. While the WARN Act requires covered employers to give notice to a wide range of workers, a covered employer typically does not have to provide notice to new, part-time or temporary employees.

Workers who are entitled to receive WARN Act notices include:

• Salaried employees
• Hourly employees
• Managers and supervisors
• Union representatives or other employee representatives

Workers who are not entitled to WARN Act notices include:

• Employees who have worked less than six months in the previous 12 months
• Part-time workers who average fewer than 20 hours per week
• Employees engaged in strikes or affected by a lockout during a labor dispute
• Temporary employees who understood their employment was short-term
• Independent contractors, consultants, and other non-employees who have a separate business relationship with the employer

Employers may owe affected workers up to 60 days’ back pay and benefits, plus attorney fees, and they may have to pay civil penalties.

An employer who violates the WARN Act is liable to every affected employee for back pay and benefits for the period it was in violation, up to 60 days. The prevailing party in a WARN action can also be awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.

If the employer failed to also provide required notice to a local unit of government, it can face a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of violation. Employers can avoid this penalty by paying affected employees within three weeks of the plant closing or mass layoff.

Under the WARN Act, the notice period can be shortened in cases of faltering company actively seeking capital, unforeseeable business circumstances, and natural disasters like floods or earthquakes.

The WARN Act provides limited exceptions in cases of unexpected events that prevent an employer from giving the full 60 days’ notice. Employers may shorten the notice period under these exceptions:

• Unforeseeable Business Circumstances: If sudden, unexpected events outside the employer’s control cause the layoff or closing, shorter notice may be permitted. Examples include a major client’s sudden bankruptcy or an unanticipated economic downturn.
• Natural Disasters: If a flood, earthquake, drought, storm, or similar natural disaster causes the employment loss, the employer may give less notice. Note: Some courts ruled that COVID-19 did not qualify as a natural disaster under the WARN Act, while others left the question open depending on the facts.
• Faltering Company Exception (Plant Closings Only): If a company was actively seeking new capital or a buyer and the company believed that giving notice would have prevented it from obtaining the necessary funding or completing the sale, it may be allowed to give less notice before a plant closing. Employers must prove their efforts and the reasons why providing notice earlier was not feasible.

Even if an exception applies, employers must still provide as much notice as practicable, explain why the notice period is shorter, and fulfill all other WARN Act requirements. Employers cannot simply skip notice altogether.

Remote employees are tied to the site from which they are assigned work or report, not their home addresses.

Even if employees work remotely or telecommute, the WARN Act still applies to them. This means layoffs affecting remote workers are aggregated with the location they report to when assessing WARN Act coverage.

The key is determining their “single site of employment,” which is generally:

• The location they report to, or
• The location from which their work is assigned.

For example, if a remote employee reports to or receives assignments from a specific office or facility, they are considered part of that site for WARN Act purposes—even if they live and work hundreds of miles away.

Not necessarily. The sale or merger must include or cause an employment loss for the WARN Act to apply.

A business sale, merger, or acquisition does not automatically trigger WARN Act notice requirements. The key question is whether the transaction causes a plant closing or mass layoff. If employees are terminated as part of the sale or merger—or if they suffer a qualifying loss of employment—the WARN Act may require advance notice.

If employees are rehired immediately by the buyer with no meaningful break in employment, there may be no “employment loss” under the WARN Act.

If the buyer or seller plans a layoff or closure associated with the sale, WARN notice obligations could apply to either or both parties, depending on the timing and structure of the transaction. The seller must provide notice if a mass layoff or plant closing occurs before or at the time of the sale; the buyer must provide notice for post-sale layoffs.

Bankruptcy does not automatically eliminate WARN Act obligations.

If a mass layoff or plant closure occurs before the bankruptcy filing, the employer must follow the WARN Act. If the employment loss occurs after the bankruptcy filing, the employer’s liability depends on the type of bankruptcy and court rulings.

The WARN Act is enforced through private lawsuits filed by employees, their representatives, or local government officials.

Unlike some employment laws, the WARN Act does not have a government agency that directly enforces it, like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal discrimination laws. Instead, enforcement happens through civil lawsuits brought in federal court by either:

• Employees may sue if they did not receive proper WARN notice.

• Employee representatives, like unions, can sue on behalf of affected workers.

• Local government officials may bring an action if a WARN violation affects their community.

The lawsuit must be filed within two years of the violation.