The WARN Act: Your Right to Know Before Layoffs Hit
Over 114,000+ U.S. companies employing 91.8M workers are required to file public notices before mass layoffs. The WARN Act gives you advance warning — if you know where to look.
Who Does the WARN Act Affect?
The WARN Act covers a massive portion of the U.S. workforce. If you work at a company with 100+ employees, this law was written for you.
Every one of these companies is legally required to file a WARN notice before conducting a mass layoff or plant closing. That's a lot of potential early warnings hiding in public records.
Nearly 92 million American workers are employed at firms large enough to trigger WARN requirements. If you're one of them, you have a legal right to 60 days advance notice before a mass layoff.
The problem
WARN notices are public record, but they're scattered across 50 different state websites in dozens of formats — PDFs, spreadsheets, HTML tables. Most people never see them until it's too late.
Get notified before layoffs hitWARN Act at a Glance
Key requirements that employers must follow under federal law
100+ Employees
Applies to employers with 100 or more full-time workers
60 Days Notice
Required advance notice before plant closings or mass layoffs
50+ Workers
Triggered when 50+ employees are affected at a single site
Federal Law
Enacted in 1988 to protect workers and communities
What is the WARN Act?
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a U.S. labor law enacted in 1988 that protects workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide advance notice of qualifying plant closings and mass layoffs.
Under the WARN Act, covered employers must provide at least 60 calendar days of written notice before implementing a plant closing or mass layoff. This notice must be given to:
- Affected workers or their representatives (unions)
- State dislocated worker units
- Local government officials
This advance notice gives workers time to prepare for the transition, seek new employment, or enter training programs.
Legal Requirements
What Triggers a WARN Notice?
Three types of employment actions require WARN notification
Plant Closing
Permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment affecting 50+ employees
Mass Layoff
Reduction in force affecting 500+ employees OR 50-499 employees if they make up 33% of the workforce
Relocation
Moving operations more than 100 miles away, resulting in employment loss
Exemptions & Exceptions
Not all layoffs require WARN notification. The following situations are exempt from WARN requirements:
- 1Employers with fewer than 100 full-time employees
- 2Layoffs affecting fewer than 50 workers at a single site
- 3Temporary projects where workers understood employment was limited
- 4Strikes or lockouts not intended to evade WARN requirements
- 5Unforeseeable business circumstances (with reduced notice)
- 6Natural disasters (with reduced notice)
- 7Faltering company exception (for plant closings only)
Why Some Layoffs Don't Appear
If you're wondering why a layoff at your company isn't in our database, it may be because:
- The company has fewer than 100 employees
- Fewer than 50 workers were affected at a single site
- The layoff qualified for an exception (natural disaster, unforeseeable circumstances)
- The state hasn’t published the notice yet
How Layoff iQ Collects WARN Data
We aggregate publicly available WARN filings from state labor departments across the country
Monitor State Sources
We continuously monitor labor department websites across all 50 states for new WARN filings.
Extract & Parse Data
Our systems extract company names, locations, employee counts, and effective dates from various formats.
Process WARN Letters
We use AI to extract detailed job position breakdowns from the actual WARN letter PDFs.
Normalize & Verify
Data is standardized, deduplicated, and verified for accuracy before being added to our database.
Alert Users
Matching users receive instant email and SMS notifications about relevant WARN filings.
Comprehensive State Coverage
We monitor WARN filings from labor departments across the United States. Each state publishes WARN data differently — Excel downloads, HTML tables, PDF-only notices, even email inboxes. Our system handles all these formats to give you a unified, searchable view.
What We Extract from WARN Letters
We've AI-processed 1,100+ WARN letter PDFs, extracting structured data that no other source provides:
State-Level WARN Laws
13 states have their own “mini-WARN” laws with stricter requirements than federal WARN
| State | Law Name | Threshold | Notice | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Cal-WARN | 75+ | 60 days | Broader coverage than federal |
| Delaware | Delaware WARN | 100+ | 60 days | Relocation 50+ miles triggers |
| Hawaii | Dislocated Workers Act | 50+ | 60 days | $500/day civil penalties |
| Illinois | Illinois WARN | 75+ | 60 days | Lower threshold than federal |
| Iowa | Iowa WARN | 25+ | 30 days | Lowest threshold (25 employees) |
| Maine | Severance Pay Law | 100+ | 90 days | Mandatory severance pay |
| Maryland | Economic Stabilization | 50+ | 60 days | “Reduction in operations” concept |
| New Hampshire | NH WARN | 100+ | 60 days | Notice to Attorney General |
| New Jersey | NJ WARN (2023) | 100+ | 90 days | Mandatory severance (1 wk/yr) |
| New York | NYS WARN | 50+ | 90 days | Lower threshold + longer notice |
| Tennessee | Plant Closings Act | 50-99 | 60 days | Covers smaller employers |
| Vermont | Potential Layoffs Act | Varies | 45/30 days | Split timeline (state vs employees) |
| Wisconsin | Business Closing Law | 50+ | 60 days | Lower threshold than federal |
California — Cal-WARN
Labor Code §1400+
Often applied more broadly than federal WARN with different coverage mechanics and narrower defenses.
New Jersey — NJ WARN
Amended April 10, 2023
Mandatory severance pay required with additional consequences for inadequate notice.
New York — NYS WARN
State WARN Program
Lower employer threshold (50 vs 100) and longer notice period (90 vs 60 days) than federal.
Maine — Severance Pay Law
26 M.R.S. §625-B
Unique severance pay requirement. Violations can trigger $500/day civil penalties.
Iowa — Iowa WARN
Iowa Code Ch. 84C
Lowest employer threshold of any state — applies to employers with just 25 employees.
Hawaii — Dislocated Workers Act
HRS Ch. 394B
Civil penalties up to $500 per day with statutory mitigation language.
Other States with Mini-WARN Laws
Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin also have state-level WARN requirements. These laws vary in their thresholds, notice periods, and specific triggers.
Always consult your state's labor department or a legal professional for the most current requirements applicable to your situation.
Stay Ahead of Layoffs
Don't wait until it's too late. Get personalized alerts when WARN notices are filed for your company, industry, or location.