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Three questions, one clear answer.

WARN Act Eligibility.

Whether the federal WARN Act — or your state's stricter mini-WARN — applies to the layoff round you are in. Plus what notice (or pay in lieu) you may be entitled to, and what to do if your employer did not give it.

WARN is a notice law, not a severance law. The two often overlap but are not the same. Treat this as a starting point, not legal advice.

Check

Question 01

Full-time employees, company-wide. Count part-timers working 20+ hours per week if you can.

Question 02

At a single site, in a 30- or 90-day window. If your company laid off people in waves, the law sometimes aggregates them.

Question 03

The state with the strictest law that covers you applies. Several states have lower employer-size or layoff-size thresholds than federal.

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Pair this with

What you are owed, and what to ask for.

WARN is the floor. Severance is what you negotiate on top. The Severance Calculator does the math for your role and tenure.

Open Severance Calculator Or get the full plan when CareerCanopy launches →

Methodology

How these thresholds are set.

Federal WARN Act (29 U.S.C. § 2101 et seq.) applies to employers with 100 or more full-time employees. It is triggered by either a plant closing affecting 50+ employees at a single site, or a mass layoff of 500+ workers — or 50–499 if they are 33% or more of the active workforce at that site. Notice required: 60 days, in writing, or 60 days pay in lieu.

State mini-WARN laws in California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, and Vermont set stricter thresholds. New York requires 90 days notice. New Jersey requires 90 days notice plus one week of pay per year of service. California's Cal-WARN drops the employer-size threshold to 75 employees.

Exemptions exist for "faltering company" status, unforeseeable business circumstances (rare, narrowly construed), and natural disaster. Employers cannot use these to skirt notice without strong documentation.

If you believe WARN applied and your employer did not give notice, you may be entitled to back pay and benefits for each day notice was short (up to 60 days under federal law, up to 90 in some states). The remedy is typically pursued through a private lawsuit or a Department of Labor complaint.

Primary sources

This page is for general information only. It is not legal advice. WARN claims are time-sensitive and fact-specific — if you believe your employer violated WARN, talk to an employment attorney. Many take WARN cases on contingency.