WARN helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued compliance assistance materials to help workers and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under the provisions of WARN.

WARN ACT Overview

Most states do not have their own layoff notice laws, but do operate rapid response offices to help enforce the federal WARN Act. Seven (7) states have enacted layoff notice laws similar to the WARN Act. The table below outlines each state’s WARN requirements and a link to the state department responsible for receiving WARN notices and dealing with WARN Act issue.

SAMPLE LETTERS – These are SAMPLES ONLY and may not fit your situation. Read them along with the requirements by your state and the federal government to determine of what you are required to notify your workers and other parties.

WARN sample_letter_collective_bargaining_representative

WARN sample_letter_to_state_municipal_official

WARN sample_letter_to_employee

State	State WARN Law	Requirements
Alabama	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Alaska	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Arizona	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Arkansas	No	Same as the federal requirements.
California	Yes	Applies to employers with 75 or more full or part-time employees where 50 or more employees are to be laid off due to a plant closing, mass layoff, or relocation of the employer’s business. Unlike the federal law, there is no requirement that the number of employees to be laid off constitute a certain percentage of the employer’s workforce. Relocation is defined as a move to a different location more than 100 miles from the prior location.
Colorado	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Connecticut	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Delaware	No	Same as the federal requirements.
District of Columbia	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Florida	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Georgia	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Hawaii	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Idaho	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Illinois	Yes	Applies to employers with 75 or more full-time employees when: – 25 or more full-time employees are laid off if they constitute one-third or more of the full-time employees at the site, or – 250 or more full-time employees are laid off
Indiana	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Iowa	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Kansas	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Kentucky	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Louisiana	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Maine	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Maryland	Yes	Maryland’s version of WARN, the Maryland Economic Stabilization Act, is voluntary and applies to employers in the industrial, commercial, and business industries with 50 or more employees. Otherwise, an employer must comply with the federal requirements.
Massachusetts	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Michigan	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Minnesota	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Mississippi	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Missouri	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Montana	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Nebraska	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Nevada	No	Same as the federal requirements.
New Hampshire	No	Same as the federal requirements.
New Jersey	Yes	Applies to employers who have been in business at least three years and have at least 100 employees. It applies in situations where a covered employer: – transfers or terminates its operations during any continuous period of 30 days which results in the termination of employment of 50 or more full-time employees, or – conducts a mass layoff that results in an employment loss during any 30 day period of: 500 or more full-time employees, or 50 or more full-time employees representing one third or more of the full-time employees at the establishment
New Mexico	No	Same as the federal requirements.
New York	Yes	Applies to private employers with 50 or more workers who layoff at least 25 employees.
North Carolina	No	Same as the federal requirements.
North Dakota	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Ohio	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Oklahoma	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Oregon	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Pennsylvania	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Rhode Island	No	Same as the federal requirements.
South Carolina	No	Same as the federal requirements.
South Dakota	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Tennessee	Yes	Applies to employers with 50 or more employees, instead of the 100 required by the federal law. All other federal requirements apply.
Texas	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Utah	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Vermont	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Virginia	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Washington	No	Same as the federal requirements.
West Virginia	No	Same as the federal requirements.
Wisconsin	Yes	Applies to employers with 50 or more employees.
Wyoming	No	Same as the federal requirements.

December 2018

What is the WARN Act?