Does Your Layoff Trigger WARN?

What triggers WARN, in plain terms

The federal WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more employees. Two events require 60 calendar days of written notice. A plant closing is the shutdown of a site or an operating unit within it that costs 50 or more employees their employment in a 30-day period. A mass layoff is a reduction of 500 or more at a single site, or of 50 to 499 when that is at least 33% of the active workforce there. Notice goes to affected employees or their representatives, the state dislocated worker unit, and the chief elected local official, each with its own required content under 20 CFR 639.7.

The 90-day trap

Employers get caught on aggregation more than on the headline thresholds. Separate smaller reductions within any 90-day period are counted together unless the employer can prove they arise from separate and distinct causes. Three rounds of 20 in a quarter can be one mass layoff in the eyes of the statute. That is why this check asks for the 90-day figure separately, and why the toolkit runs the rolling windows on dated entries rather than a single snapshot.

State mini-WARN laws stack on federal

State law can cover smaller employers, smaller reductions, and longer notice. California covers establishments of 75 or more and triggers at 50 losses in 30 days, with expanded notice content required by SB 617 from 1 January 2026. New York covers employers of 50 or more full-time employees, triggers at 25 full-time losses when that is a third of the site or at 250 regardless, and requires 90 days of notice. Illinois covers employers of 75 or more, with triggers at 25 full-time losses at a third of the workforce or 250, and 50 for a closing. New Jersey counts 100 employees nationwide, triggers at 50 terminations statewide in 30 days, requires 90 days of notice, and is the only state with mandatory severance of one week of pay per year of service. Meeting the federal test is not the end of the question, and failing it is not a pass.

Remote workers are the open question

The federal regulations predate fixed-home remote work, and the few courts to rule on where a remote worker's single site of employment sits have conflicted. New York counts remote employees based at the site by statute. Litigation filed in 2024 is testing the question federally. The cautious practice many employers follow is to include remote workers in the counting and the notices, and this check flags the issue whenever remote workers are in your numbers.

What counts as an employment loss under WARN?

A termination other than for cause, a layoff exceeding 6 months, or a cut of more than half the hours of work in each month of a 6-month period. A furlough announced as short but extended past 6 months becomes an employment loss counted from its start, which is how quiet furloughs create loud WARN problems.

What are the penalties for missing WARN notice?

Back pay and benefits for each affected employee for up to 60 days, plus a civil penalty of up to $500 per day payable to the local government, which is avoidable if the back pay obligation is satisfied within 3 weeks of the closing or layoff. State laws add their own remedies, and New Jersey adds 4 extra weeks of severance when its 90-day notice is missed.

Do remote workers count toward a single site?

Unsettled under federal law. Courts have conflicted on whether a remote worker's site is the home or the assigned office, New York counts site-based remote workers by statute, and pending litigation is testing the question. Including remote workers in the counting is the cautious practice; treat the answer as a counsel question.

Does notice have to be exactly 60 days?

At least 60 calendar days before the first separation under federal law, measured to receipt, and 90 days in New York and New Jersey. Narrow exceptions exist for faltering companies, unforeseeable business circumstances, and natural disasters, but each still requires as much notice as practicable and a statement of the reason. Whether one applies is a counsel call, not a checkbox.