The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN) prohibits certain employers from terminating affected employees without first providing 60-days advance written notice to the employees and certain governmental bodies. The notice requirements under WARN are triggered only when there is a "plant closing or "mass layoff.

A plant closing in general is the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment if the shutdown results in an employment loss during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees, excluding part-time, certain temporary or contract employees. A mass layoff is a reduction in force that results in an employment loss at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for at least 50-499 employees if they represent at least 33% of the total active workforce, excluding any part-time employees, or 500 or more non-part-time employees.

WARN applies to employers that employ 100 or more full-time workers or 100 or more employees who, in the aggregate, work at least a combined 4,000 hours per week (exclusive of overtime). However, there is no notice requirement where job losses are due to strikes, bona fide lockouts, and natural disasters. Also, there is a reduced notice requirement when a closing or layoff is caused by unforeseen business circumstances, or, if the employer is actively seeking capital or business which, if obtained, would have allowed the employer to avoid or postpone the employment loss.

An employer that violates WARN is liable to each affected employee for lost compensation. WARN is a complex Act. Before conducting a mass layoff or plant closing, you should discuss it with legal counsel.