Federal vs. State WARN Laws
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act sets a national floor: employers with 100 or more employees must provide 60 days notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. But Congress explicitly allowed states to enact stronger protections, and several have done exactly that, covering more workers, requiring longer notice, and in some cases mandating severance pay that federal law does not require.
Understanding these differences matters because many workers are covered by state laws that give them substantially more rights than the federal minimum. If you live or work in a state with a mini-WARN law, you may be entitled to protections you don't know about.
States With Mini-WARN Laws
California (Cal-WARN Act)
California's WARN Act is among the most worker-friendly in the country. It covers employers with 75 or more employees - lower than the federal threshold of 100. The law applies when 50 or more workers are laid off within a 30-day period. California notably eliminates the "faltering company" exception that allows federal WARN violations when a company is seeking financing, meaning California employers cannot use pending deals as an excuse to skip notice. Covered employees receive a full 60 days of pay and benefits if notice is insufficient.
New York (NY WARN Act)
New York extended the notice period to 90 days - 50% longer than the federal requirement. The state also lowered the employer threshold to 50 employees, covering significantly more businesses. The 90-day window gives workers meaningfully more time to plan job searches, financial adjustments, and retraining. New York's law applies when 25 or more full-time employees are affected at a single site.
New Jersey (Millville Dallas Airdel Act)
New Jersey's law is the strongest in the nation. It eliminates the minimum employer size threshold entirely, meaning employers of any size may be covered. The state requires 90 days notice (as of recent amendments) and, uniquely among all states, mandates severance pay equal to one week of pay per full year of service. This is the only state where WARN-like legislation requires actual severance compensation. New Jersey also broadened the definition of covered events to include transfers and relocations.
Illinois (IL WARN Act)
Illinois covers employers with 75 or more full-time employees and requires 60 days notice consistent with the federal standard. The state's law defines mass layoff as affecting 25 or more full-time employees when they constitute at least one-third of the workforce, or 250 or more employees regardless of percentage. Illinois requires that notice be provided to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in addition to workers and local government.
Iowa
Iowa sets the lowest employer threshold of any state at just 25 employees, extending coverage to many small and mid-size businesses that the federal law misses entirely. The law requires 30 days notice for business closings. While the notice period is shorter than the federal standard, the much lower threshold means thousands of additional Iowa workers have at least some advance warning protection.
Other States With Notable Provisions
Several other states have enacted layoff notification requirements that supplement the federal WARN Act:
- Wisconsin - requires 60 days notice for employers with 50+ employees when closing a business or initiating a mass layoff of 25+ workers
- Tennessee - requires employers with 50-99 employees to provide notice to the state's Department of Labor (federal WARN only covers 100+)
- Maryland - requires employers that relocate or close operations affecting 25+ employees to provide 90 days notice to the state
- Maine - requires 60 days notice or severance pay for employers with 100+ employees closing plants
Key Differences at a Glance
The most impactful differences between state and federal WARN laws fall into four categories:
- Employer size threshold - Federal law requires 100 employees. States range from no minimum (New Jersey) to 25 (Iowa) to 50 (New York) to 75 (California, Illinois)
- Notice period - Federal law requires 60 days. New York and New Jersey require 90 days
- Severance requirements - Federal law requires no severance. Only New Jersey mandates severance pay (one week per year of service)
- Exceptions - California eliminates the faltering company exception. Several states narrow the unforeseeable business circumstances exception
What This Means for Workers
If you work in a state with a mini-WARN law, your practical protections depend on which state you're in, not just the federal standard. Workers in New Jersey have the strongest protections in the country, with mandatory severance, extended notice, and no minimum employer size. Workers in states like Texas, Florida, or Georgia, which have no state WARN law, rely entirely on the federal 60-day notice requirement for employers with 100+ workers.
Before accepting a severance agreement or assuming your employer met its obligations, check your federal WARN rights and research whether your state has additional protections. Many employment attorneys offer free consultations and can quickly assess whether your employer complied with both federal and state requirements.
How to Find WARN Notices in Your State
Each state's workforce agency collects WARN filings, but accessibility varies, some publish structured, regularly-updated registries; others do not publish in a machine-readable form at all. PlainLayoffs aggregates WARN Act data from the states whose agencies publish it in a form we can ingest, not yet a complete 50-state census. Browse state-by-state data to see which states have filings on record and recent layoff notices in your area, or check the latest WARN filings we track. Understanding the volume and pattern of filings in your state helps contextualize your own situation and identify whether your industry is experiencing broader workforce reductions.
Advocacy and Reform
Labor advocates continue to push for stronger protections at both the federal and state level. Proposed reforms include lowering the federal threshold below 100 employees, extending the notice period to 90 days nationally, adding severance requirements similar to New Jersey's model, and closing the exceptions that allow reduced notice. Whether these reforms advance depends on legislative priorities, but workers should be aware that the current protections represent a floor, not a ceiling, and state-level advocacy has proven effective.