WARN Act thresholds, penalties, and the state laws that go further
Whether a layoff triggers WARN is a counting exercise: how many employment losses, at which site, inside which window. The federal thresholds are only the floor. States lower the trigger, lengthen the notice, and in one case add mandatory severance, and their counting rules differ from the federal ones. This note lays the thresholds out side by side and walks the 90-day aggregation math on a worked example. It flags the remote-worker question the courts have not settled.
How this note is governed
Applies to US employers sizing a layoff against the federal WARN triggers at 100 or more employees. Federal floor only. State mini-WARN laws reach smaller employers and lengthen the notice.
Short answer
50 at 33%, or 500. Federal WARN triggers on a plant closing with 50 losses at one site in 30 days, a mass layoff of 50 losses reaching 33%, or 500 losses outright. A missed notice costs 60 days of back pay.
Published Last verified
The federal regulations and the state mini-WARN table were rechecked. The 50-at-33%, 500-loss, and 90-day aggregation triggers were unchanged.
- 60 days + $500 a day
- The price of a missed notice: back pay and benefits up to 60 days per affected employee, plus the daily civil penalty to local government.
- 50 at 33%, or 500
- The federal mass-layoff trigger at a single site in 30 days. A plant closing triggers at 50 losses with no percentage test.
The thresholds, and what counts as a loss
Three questions decide federal coverage. Is the employer big enough, is the event big enough, and does it happen at a single site inside the counting window. The companion note on the WARN Act and the 60-day notice covers what the notice must say and who must receive it. This note is about the counting that decides whether notice is owed at all.
- Covered employer 100 or more
- 100 or more employees, on either of two counts. The first excludes workers averaging fewer than 20 hours a week or employed fewer than 6 of the last 12 months. The second counts 100 or more including part-time workers whose combined hours reach 4,000 a week, excluding overtime.
- Plant closing 50 losses in 30 days
- A shutdown of a single site, or of one or more operating units within it. It has to cause employment losses for 50 or more employees in any 30-day period. No percentage test applies.
- Mass layoff 50 at 33%, or 500
- A reduction that is not a plant closing, causing losses at a single site in any 30-day period. It reaches 50 to 499 employees who make up at least 33% of the active workforce. It also reaches 500 or more regardless of the share.
All three triggers count employment losses, and the definition does the quiet work. An employment loss is a termination other than for cause, quitting, or retirement. A layoff that runs longer than 6 months. Or a cut of more than half an employee’s hours in each month of a 6-month stretch. A short layoff expected to last under 6 months is not an employment loss when it happens. Logging one never inflates the count by itself. The trap runs the other way. A short layoff that stretches past 6 months becomes an employment loss counted from the day it began. That can put an employer out of compliance retroactively.
The aggregation calculator that computes every 30-day and 90-day window. It comes with the timeline and recipient checklist, the notice-letter set with the California addendum, and the dated state reference.
The 30-day windows and the 90-day aggregation rule
The thresholds are tested in rolling 30-day windows, and an employer that splits one reduction into smaller rounds does not escape them. Two or more groups of losses at a single site may each fall below the trigger but together cross it within any 90-day period. They then count as one covered event. The exception is where the employer proves the rounds came from separate and distinct actions and causes. The safe planning posture is to run every contemplated separation date through both windows before any date is set.
The example is fictional, but the shape is the common one: no single round looks reportable, and the windows say otherwise. This is why WARN counting belongs in the planning meeting, not in a post-announcement review.
The mini-WARN table, dated
State mini-WARN laws stack on top of the federal Act rather than replacing it. The stricter rule wins on every dimension: employer size, trigger count, notice length, recipients, and remedies. Four states are modeled here because they are the ones most reductions touch. They are not the whole map. Washington, Maine, Maryland, and others run their own versions, and the set keeps growing.
These thresholds change as legislatures amend the laws. Congress proposed a federal WARN overhaul in January 2026, the Fair Warning Act. It is pending legislation only and not law. Verify the current federal rule and the law of every state where affected employees sit, including remote employees. Do that before relying on any table, this one included.
The single-site question the courts have not settled
Federal WARN counts losses at a single site of employment, and the regulations were written before fixed-home remote work existed at scale. A remote worker’s single site may be the home, the office the worker reports into, or somewhere else. That answer decides whether remote losses count toward a site’s threshold. The few courts to rule have conflicted. The Zulily class actions were filed in the Southern District of Ohio in May 2024 and the Western District of Washington in September 2024. They test exactly this question for a workforce that was largely remote when it was cut.
Two practical anchors hold while the law develops. New York answers the question by statute: remote employees based at a New York site count toward its thresholds. Many employers have adopted a cautious practice. They include remote workers in both the counting and the notice when their assigned site is affected. Over-noticing costs a stamp, and under-noticing costs 60 days of back pay per person. That is risk management, not a settled rule, and it belongs in a counsel conversation.
Pause before you run a reduction near these numbers. WARN turns on counts, windows, and site definitions that are easy to get wrong, and the state overlays count differently than the federal floor. A planned reduction may sit anywhere near a federal or state threshold. Have employment counsel confirm the headcount, the single-site read, the aggregation math, the notice period, and every required recipient. Do that before any date is set or any employee is told. An exposure read from any tool, ours included, is a signal to involve counsel, never a clearance.
Count it before you plan it
The free Does Your Layoff Trigger WARN quick check runs the site, window, and state questions above in your browser. It returns an exposure profile to review with counsel. The WARN Act Compliance Toolkit carries the full engine. That is an aggregation calculator that computes the 30-day and 90-day windows for every logged loss. It is also the timeline math, the notice-letter set with the California addendum, and the dated state reference. For the whole reduction, the RIF Complete System sequences it: plan the restructure, model the savings, stay compliant on notice. The selection side of a defensible reduction is covered in defensible RIF selection. The release rules for workers 40 and over sit in the OWBPA release rules.
Six red flags to check before you fire someone
Free, and written to the same standard
A five minute screen to run before you act, sent to your inbox as a print-ready PDF. Every figure in it traces to a reference note like this one.
Where these figures come from
7 citations checked, newest check 24 July 2026
- U.S. Department of Labor, Plant Closings and Layoffs (WARN). The agency overview of the federal Act: coverage at 100 or more employees, 60 calendar days of notice, and the covered-event definitions. WARN is codified at 29 U.S.C. 2101 and following. dol.gov, Plant Closings and Layoffs dol.gov
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 20 CFR Part 639. The federal WARN regulations. They carry the employment-loss definition, the single-site rules, and the 90-day aggregation provision. They carry the notice content elements in section 639.7 for each recipient class, including the short form for government recipients. ecfr.gov, 20 CFR Part 639 ecfr.gov
- California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal-WARN Act. California’s law sits at Labor Code sections 1400 to 1408. It covers 75-employee establishments, 50 or more losses in 30 days, and relocations of 100 or more miles. Notice runs 60 days, with no percentage test. dir.ca.gov, the Cal-WARN Act dir.ca.gov
- California EDD, WSIN25-14 on SB 617. The notice-content expansion effective for notices issued on or after 1 January 2026. It adds a workforce development board coordination statement and contacts, CalFresh information, and employer contact details. Services are arranged within 30 days where the employer coordinates. The triggers are unchanged. edd.ca.gov, WSIN25-14 edd.ca.gov
- New York State Department of Labor, WARN. New York’s law covers private employers with 50 or more full-time employees, and it counts remote workers based at the site. Triggers sit at 25 full-time employees at 33%, or 250 regardless of share. Notice runs 90 days, with an expanded recipient list. dol.ny.gov, the NYS WARN Act dol.ny.gov
- Illinois Department of Labor, Illinois WARN (820 ILCS 65). The Illinois thresholds. They cover employers with 75 or more full-time employees, or 75 or more workers aggregating 4,000 hours a week. A mass layoff is 25 full-time employees at 33%, or 250. A closing is 50. Notice runs 60 days, with back-pay and penalty provisions, and the definitions in 56 Ill. Adm. Code 230.110. labor.illinois.gov, WARN labor.illinois.gov
- New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, File a WARN Notice. The state’s page for the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act, reflecting the 2023 amendments. It covers 100 or more employees nationwide, statewide establishment counting, and a 50-termination trigger. Notice runs 90 days. Mandatory severance is one week per year of service, and it cannot be waived without state or court approval. nj.gov, File a WARN Notice nj.gov
Common questions
What counts as an employment loss under WARN?
A termination other than for cause, quitting, or retirement. A layoff lasting longer than 6 months. Or a reduction of more than half an employee’s hours in each month of a 6-month period. A short layoff expected to run under 6 months is not a loss when it happens. One that stretches past 6 months becomes a loss counted from the day it began. Confirm the counting for your facts with employment counsel.
What is the 90-day aggregation rule?
Two or more groups of employment losses at a single site within any 90-day period add together into one covered event. That applies if each group alone falls below the threshold but the combined count crosses it. The exception is where the employer proves the groups came from separate and distinct actions and causes. Staggering a reduction into small rounds does not avoid notice. It usually just delays the discovery that notice was owed.
Which states go further than federal WARN?
A growing list. California reaches 75-employee establishments with a 50-loss trigger and no percentage test. New York covers 50-employee employers with triggers at 25 and a 90-day notice. Illinois reaches 75 full-time employees with triggers at 25. New Jersey counts statewide, requires 90 days, and mandates severance of one week per year of service. Washington, Maine, Maryland, and others run their own versions, so check every state where affected employees sit.
Do remote employees count toward a single site?
Unsettled under federal WARN. The regulations predate fixed-home remote work, the few courts to rule have conflicted, and the Zulily class actions filed in 2024 test the question directly. New York counts remote workers based at a site by statute. The cautious practice many employers follow is to include remote workers in the counting and the notice, when their assigned site is affected. Treat it as a counsel question, not a settled rule.
Put it to work
The site, window, and state questions in a 3 minute browser check that returns an exposure profile to review with counsel, never a clearance.
FreeThe aggregation calculator that computes every 30-day and 90-day window. It comes with the timeline and recipient checklist, the notice-letter set with the California addendum, and the dated state reference.
$79The whole reduction in sequence: plan the restructure, model the savings, stay compliant on notice, with the WARN toolkit inside.
$199The lawful-execution layer: selection scoring, the four-fifths adverse-impact review, the older-worker disclosure builder, and a separation tracker.
$129The money model behind the decision: severance, fully loaded role costs, net savings, and payback, stress-tested before any headcount is set.
$89
This note is general information about employment practice rather than legal advice for your situation. Check the review date and the jurisdictions above, follow the source link, and confirm the rule before you act on it.