WARN Act 2025: Are You Entitled to 60 Days of Pay?
📅 Última actualización: Junio 2026·✅ Revisado por especialistas en derecho laboral·🔒 Sin registro · 100% gratuito
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What is the WARN Act?
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires covered employers to provide 60 calendar days advance notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. If they don't give notice, they owe affected workers up to 60 days of pay and benefits.
Does WARN apply to your layoff?
Requirement
Threshold
Employer size
100+ full-time employees
Mass layoff trigger
500+ workers, OR 50-499 workers if that's 33%+ of workforce
Plant closing trigger
50+ workers at a single site
Full-time definition
Worked 20+ hours/week and 6+ months in prior 12 months
Exceptions to WARN notice
Three exceptions allow employers to give less than 60 days notice: faltering company (seeking capital to stay open), unforeseeable business circumstances (sudden, dramatic economic change), and natural disasters. These exceptions are narrowly interpreted — employers can't use them as a routine escape hatch.
What you're owed if WARN is violated
WARN damages = Daily rate of pay × days of notice not given (max 60 days)Plus: value of benefits (health insurance, etc.) during that periodExample: $300/day × 45 days missed notice = $13,500 + benefits
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, many states have 'Mini-WARN' laws with stricter requirements. California requires 60-day notice for layoffs of 50+ workers (no 33% threshold). New York requires notice for 25+ workers. Always check both federal and state WARN requirements.
WARN claims must be filed within 3 years of the violation in federal court. Many workers miss this deadline because they don't realize they had a WARN claim until later. If you were part of a mass layoff, investigate promptly.
Workers can waive WARN rights in a severance agreement. Courts scrutinize these waivers carefully, and the waiver must be knowing and voluntary with adequate consideration. An employment attorney should review any agreement that waives WARN rights.
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