How to check if your company filed a WARN notice

What the WARN Act requires

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act applies to most private employers with 100 or more employees, not counting people with under six months on the job or who work under 20 hours a week. A covered employer must give at least 60 calendar days of written notice before a plant closing or a mass layoff. The notice goes to affected workers or their union, to the state dislocated worker unit, and to the local chief elected official.

Two events trigger it. A plant closing is a shutdown that puts at least 50 full-time workers at one site out of work. A mass layoff is 50 to 499 full-time workers at one site when that is at least 33% of the site's workforce, or 500 or more regardless of share. There are exceptions, such as unforeseeable business circumstances or a natural disaster, but notice must still be as early as practicable. Sources: DOL, Plant Closings and Layoffs; DOL, Your Rights Under WARN.

State laws can be stricter

Several states have their own "mini-WARN" laws. California's covers establishments with 75 or more employees and any layoff of 50 or more within 30 days, whatever the share of the workforce. New York's covers employers with 50 or more full-time employees in the state, starts at 25 affected workers, and requires 90 days of notice. New Jersey and Illinois also have their own laws. Check your state labor department for the exact rules. Sources: California EDD; New York DOL.

This is why 77% of the notices in our data name fewer than 100 workers (median 43): the federal test is about the size of the employer and the site, and state laws catch smaller events.