Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

Employers have to give 60 days notice before closing a workplace or laying off a large group of workers.

WARN doesn’t give workers a lot of protection, but at least workers must be told ahead of time when they will lose their job. For union members, it also gives some time to negotiate extra protections, fight against the closure, and make sure that the rights of the workers are protected. Unions can also negotiate to have more than 60 days notice in the contract.

Workers have to be given notice if:
  • A workplace or part of a workplace is going to be shutdown for more than 6 months and 50 or more employees will lose their jobs in a 30 day period
  • 500 workers are laid off in a 30 day period for at least 6 months
  • 33% of the workforce (must be 50 or more workers) is laid off in a 30 day period for at least 6 months

If two or more different groups of workers (that together meet the required numbers of workers) lose their jobs or are laid off within 90 days, that requires WARN notice -- unless the boss can show that the different job losses are because of separate causes.

If a company is sold, the company selling the business is responsible to give workers notice until the day of sale. After the day of the sale, the buyer (new owner) has to give the notice. The new owner cannot get out of it by saying that the workers are not employees of the new company. If notice is not required under WARN, workers have no right to be told about the sale of the company.

"Employment loss" means: 
  • when you lose your job (except if you were fired for a reason, you quit, or you retired); OR
  • a layoff longer than 6 months; OR
  • when a worker’s hours are cut by more than 50% each month for 6 months.
Losing your job is NOT "employment loss" when:
  • the company offers you a transfer to a job within a reasonable commuting distance.
  • you agree to a transfer that is outside of a reasonable commuting distance (within 30 days of your boss offering you the transfer or within 30 days of losing your job).

If your new job is so bad that a reasonable person would quit (“constructive discharge”), you still have rights under WARN.

Which workers are covered:
  • Workplaces with 100 full-time workers or more than 100 workers who together work 4000 hours each week (not counting overtime)
  • Private sector workplaces (both for-profit and non-profit)
  • Both hourly and salaried workers, including office workers, managers, and supervisors
  • Public and quasi-public entities which operate commercially and are separated from the regular government
  • Federal, state, and local government workers are NOT covered
Who counts as an employee?

All kinds of employees at a workplace are counted – including supervisors, managers, and office workers. If they:

  • worked at least 20 hours a week on average for the past 90 days (overtime does not count toward the average) AND
  • worked 6 months in the past 12 months.

Workers who worked less time are not counted to decide if a workplace is big enough to be covered by WARN – but they still must be given notice of plant closures or layoffs under WARN.

The Company Has To Give Notice To: 
  • The union ("the chief elected head of the union," usually the President)
  • Each non-union worker who may reasonably be expected to experience an employment loss;
  • Part time or new workers (who have worked less than 6 months in the last 12 months or who work an average of less than 20 hours a week) must be given notice, even though they are not counted when deciding if a company is big enough to be covered by WARN.
  • local elected officials;
  • the state’s dislocated worker unit (part of the state Department of Labor)

A bumping system lets a worker whose job is cut chose from different jobs, which bump different people who then could make several choices of jobs, which would bump different workers. Usually, if more senior workers can decide what job to bump into, it’s because they are protected by a union contract. When there is a “bumping” system, it can be hard to figure out who will lose their job. The boss has to try to figure out who will probably lose their jobs and notify them. The person whose job is being cut must be notified, even if they will be able to bump into another job.

Union members do not have to be given individual notice, once the local union has been told. Union members may have extra rights to longer notice, bumping, or severance pay, so read your contract and talk to a steward.

What Kind of Notice Workers Should Get

The company has to send the notices so that workers receive them 60 days in advance. The notice has to be in writing and give specific information. The notice must say:

  • If the layoff/closing is permanent or temporary (less than 6 months);
  • The date the worker will lose his/her job. A notice can say that workers will lose their job within a 2 week period, without giving a specific date (it must be given 60 days before the beginning of the 2 weeks).
  • An explanation of your rights to bump into another job (if you have any);
  • The name and number of a company representative that can give more information.

A company can send a notice that says that job loss MAY happen if a certain thing happens (like losing a big contract), to make sure they give notice 60 days in advance.

Reasons that an employer can give less than 60-days notice:
  • "Faltering company" Only when there is a plant closing, if a company was trying to get new business or investments. Putting out notice that they might close the plant would make it impossible to get new business or investments.
  • "Unforeseeable business circumstances" When a plant closing or layoff happens because of circumstances that could not be reasonably foreseen when the company would have given notice of a plant closing or layoff.
  • "Natural disaster" When a plant closing or layoff is directly caused by a natural disaster (such as floods, earthquakes, hurricane, or drought).
  • Ending Temporary Work Closing a temporary facility or finishing a project (when workers were told when they were hired that they would only work until the end of the project or temporary facility).
  • Strike or lockout Union members who strike or are locked out during contract negotiations. (Non-union employees who lose their job because of a strike or lockout, must be given 60 days notice.)
If workers get less than 60 days notice because of one of these reasons, the company has to:
  • give as much notice as possible;
  • prove that the situation fits one of the exceptions;
  • include in the notice the reason for giving less than 60 days’ notice.

The law: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 29 USC §2101, et seq.