WARN Act notices: what founders owe their teams before a layoff
When federal and state WARN rules apply, who must be told, what the notice says, and how to watch the notices other companies file.
WARN Act notices are the written warnings a company with 100 or more employees must give at least 60 days before a covered plant closing or mass layoff. Founders and operators should know the thresholds before planning a reduction, and should also read the notices other companies file, because a closing at a supplier or customer often shows up there first. This is a plain summary, not legal advice; talk to an employment lawyer before you act.
When the federal WARN Act applies
The Department of Labor's regulations, 20 CFR Part 639, set three tests.
- Size. The employer has 100 or more employees without counting part-timers, or 100 or more including part-timers who together work at least 4,000 hours a week.
- Plant closing. A site, or a unit within it, shuts down and 50 or more full-time employees lose their jobs within any 30-day window.
- Mass layoff. With no closing, one site loses at least 50 full-time employees who are at least a third of its active workforce within 30 days, or 500 or more regardless of share.
Who gets the notice, and what goes in it
Three parties must be told: the affected employees or their union, the state's dislocated worker unit, and the chief elected official of the local government.
The letter to an employee without a union has to say whether the action is permanent or temporary, whether the whole site closes, when the layoff begins and when that person's job ends, whether bumping rights exist, and which company contact to call. The version for the state and local official adds job titles and the number of people in each. It must reach them at least 60 days ahead: first class mail or a letter in the pay envelope is fine, a standard line printed on every paycheck is not.
Shorter notice is allowed in three cases: a faltering company that was actively seeking capital (closings only), business circumstances that could not reasonably be foreseen, and natural disasters. Even then the employer gives as much notice as it can and states the reason.
State rules can be stricter
| Federal | California | New York | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer size | 100+ | 75+, full and part-time | 50+ full-time |
| Notice period | 60 days | 60 days | 90 days |
| Layoff trigger | 50+ and a third of the site, or 500+ | 50+ in 30 days, any share | 25+ and a third of the site, or 250+ |
California also covers relocations of 100 miles or more and, since 2026, expects notices to describe the support services offered to laid-off workers. New York adds school districts and local emergency services to the list of parties notified, and its updated regulations address how remote work counts. Check the workforce agency page in every state where you have staff.
Read what other companies file
Many states post the notices they receive, which turns them into a cheap operating signal. A key supplier filing a closing notice for the plant that makes your parts is something you want to hear about this week, not at the next quarterly review. A competitor cutting a sales team tells you something too.
AyeWatch can watch the WARN pages for the states where your partners operate and send a short summary when a company you name appears. Its page for recruiters uses the same idea to spot competitor layoffs. Alerts come by push on every plan, with Slack and email on paid plans, which start at $9 a month after a free preview.
If you only want history, a searchable archive of past filings will serve you better. If you need to know soon after a named company files, set up the watch.