Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Public Law 100-379, August 4, 1988, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) became effective 4 February 1989.

The law requires an employer to provide affected employees, states and municipalities with a minimum 60-day notice before beginning a plant closing or mass layoff.

It is triggered by :

* A closing that will result in loss of employment for six months or more for at least 50 employees to be laid off in any 30 day period.

* A layoff of six months or more that will result in loss of employment for at least 33 percent of the employer’s workforce at a site, provided that at least 50 workers are affected.

* A layoff of six months or more that will affect 500 employees at one site, regardless of other considerations.

A site may consist of physically connected facilities or those geographically separated but operationally connected within a single economic community.

Each employee to be affected must be given written notification, to inlcude:

• Name and address of the employment site to be closed or where the mass layoff will occur.

• Nature of the planned action

• The expected date of the planned action and when the employee will be separated.

• Whether the employee has "bumping rights", i.e. can take another employee's job.

• Information on available dislocated worker assistance.

• Whether the action is expected to be temporary and, if known, the expected duration.