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Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN)

  • New for 2026: WARN notices must explain how you will support workers who are laid off. You must say whether you plan to work with your local workforce board, another organization, or not coordinate services. You also need to include contact information and a short description of the services available to workers. Review Senate Bill (SB) 617 and update your WARN notice templates to meet these requirements.

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If you're planning a mass layoff, plant closure, or relocation in California, you may be required to provide advance notice under the WARN Act. Use the steps below to see if WARN applies to you and what actions are required.

You should review this checklist if you are planning to:

  • Lay off employees

  • Close a worksite

  • Relocate operations

If you're not sure if your situation qualifies, keep reading the steps below.

You are generally required to file a WARN notice if all of the following apply:

  • You employ 75 or more employees (full-time and part-time).

  • You are planning one of the following:

    • A layoff of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period

    • A plant or facility closure

    • A relocation of operations

If these conditions do not apply, you may not be required to file a WARN notice. Contact your Local Workforce Development Area for guidance.

Source: California Labor Code, Section 1400.5

The WARN Act requires employers to provide written notice at least 60 days before a mass layoff, plant closure, or relocation occurs.

  • Notices must be received by the required parties at least 60 days in advance.

  • If you are unable to provide 60 days’ notice, you should still file a WARN notice and include an explanation

Source: 20 CFR 639.5(a), Page 354

You must send written notice to all of the following:

  • Your affected employees

  • The Employment Development Department (EDD)

  • Your Local Workforce Development Area (Local Area)

  • The chief elected official of the local government affected

Note: The chief elected official varies by local government. For elected boards, the notice should be sent to the board chairperson.

You must notify affected employees using a delivery method that ensures receipt of the notice at least 60 days in advance. Source: 20 CFR 639.2, Page 351

Acceptable methods include:

  • First-class mail

  • Personal delivery (optional signed receipt)

  • Inclusion in the employee’s pay envelope

A ticketed or preprinted notice that is regularly included with paychecks or pay envelopes is not acceptable.

Your written WARN notice must include:

Employer and contact information

  • Name and address of the employment site

  • Name, phone number, and email of a company contact

Action details

  • Whether the action is permanent or temporary

  • Whether the entire plant will be closed

  • Expected date of the first separation

  • Schedule for subsequent separations

Employee impact

  • Job titles of affected positions

  • Number of employees affected by job title

  • For multiple locations, list this information by location

Coordination and services

  • Whether you plan to coordinate Rapid Response services

    • Learn what coordinating Rapid Response with your Local Board can do for you and your impacted employees

  • Contact information for the Local Workforce Development Board

  • Required Rapid Response services description

    • Local Workforce Development Boards and their partners help people who lost their jobs find new ones. Visit an America’s Job Center of California near you for help with resumes, job interviews, job searches, and training programs to start a new career.

Required program information

  • Description of the CalFresh program

    • CalFresh helps eligible families buy groceries with monthly benefits on an EBT card. Use it at grocery stores and participating online retailers, and farmers markets. CalFresh can’t be used for non-food items or hot meals—unless you’re in the Restaurant Meals Program.

  • CalFresh benefits helpline

    • CalFresh Information Line: 1-877-847-FOOD (3663) — connects you to your local county social services office.

  • Link to the CalFresh website

Additional requirements (if applicable)

  • Whether bumping rights exist

  • Union name and address

  • Name and address of the chief elected officer of each union

Note: For additional requirements related to employee notices, refer to Title 20 Code of Federal Regulations Section 639.7.

To file your WARN notice with the EDD:

  • Email your notice to EDDWarnNotice@edd.ca.gov

  • Include the employer name in the subject line

  • Attach the written WARN notice

    • Accepted file types: DOC, DOCX, PDF

  • Include contact information in the email body

You must also submit your notice to:

Your Local Area can help identify the correct chief elected official.

After your WARN notice is processed, your Local Workforce Development Area will contact you to coordinate Rapid Response Services.

Rapid Response teams work with employers and affected workers to:

  • Provide job search assistance.

  • Offer training opportunities.

  • Explain unemployment insurance benefits.

  • Reduce disruptions to workers and communities.

More help may be available through Trade Adjustment Assistance if job loss is related to foreign competition or relocation.

For more information, review our WARN Frequently Asked Questions.

Reports, Records, and Additional Contacts

  • General questions (non-media inquiries): Contact the California WARN Act Coordinator by email.

  • Public Records Requests: Submit your Public Records Request through (GovQA portal) and select the WARN Notice Request category.

  • Media requests: For all media requests, contact the EDD Media Services Office. WARN requests will be processed within 10 days of receiving your request.

  • For enforcement of California WARN law, or to report a possible violation, contact the Department of Industrial Relations.

Notification Requirements

General Provisions of the Federal and California WARN Laws

Employers should review both the Federal WARN law and the California WARN law for a full understanding of the notification requirements.

The following is a side-by-side chart that provides the general standards of the law:

 

General Provisions of the Federal and California WARN Laws
Category Federal WARN California WARN
Covered Employers Applicable only to employers with 100 or more full-time employees who must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted. (29 USC 2101 and 20 CFR 639.3) Applicable to a “covered establishment” that employs or has employed in the preceding 12 months, 75 or more full and part-time employees. As under the federal WARN, employees must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted. [California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (a) and (h)]
Mass Layoff, Termination, Relocation or Relocation of a Call Center Plant closings involving 50 or more employees during a 30-day period. Layoffs within a 30-day period involving 50 to 499 full-time employees constituting at least 33% of the full-time workforce at a single site of employment. Layoffs of 500 or more are covered regardless of percentage of workforce. (29 USC, et seq., 2101 and 20 CFR 639.3) Plant closure affecting any amount of employees. Layoff of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period regardless of % of workforce. Relocation of at least 100 miles affecting any amount of employees. Relocation of a call center to a foreign country regardless of the percentage of workforce affected. [California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (d)-(f) and 1409 (b)]
Legal Jurisdiction Enforcement of WARN requirements through United States district courts. The court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs. (29 USC 2101, et seq) Civil action may be brought in “any court of competent jurisdiction” related to a Mass Layoff, Termination, Relocation, or Relocation of a Call Center. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees as part of costs to any prevailing plaintiff. The California WARN law is in the Labor Code and the authority to investigate through the examination of books and records is delegated to the Labor Commissioner. The Labor Commissioner may enforce the notice requirements, including investigating an alleged violation and ordering appropriate temporary relief to mitigate the violation pending the completion of a full investigation or hearing. (California Labor Code Sections 1404 and 1406)
Employer Liability An employer who violates the WARN provisions is liable to each employee for an amount equal to back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to 60 days, but no more than half the number of days the employee was employed by the employer. [29 USC; 2104 (a)].

A possible civil penalty of $500 a day for each day of violation. Employees may receive back pay to be paid at employee’s final rate or 3-year average rate of compensation, whichever is higher. In addition, employer is liable for cost of any medical expenses incurred by employees that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. The employer is liable for period of violation up to 60 days or one-half the number of days the employee was employed whichever period is smaller. (California Labor Code Section 1403)

A call center employer who does not provide notice is ineligible to be awarded or have renewed any direct or indirect state grants or state-guaranteed loans for five years and shall be ineligible to claim a tax credit -for five taxable years. (California Labor Code Section 1411 (a))
Notice Requirements An Employer must provide written notice 60-days prior to a plant closing or mass layoff to employees or their representative, the State dislocated worker unit (the Employment Development Department, Workforce Services Division in California), and the chief elected official of local government within which such closing or layoff is to occur. (29 USC, 2102; 20 CFR 639.5) An employer must give notice 60-days prior to a mass layoff, termination, relocation, or relocation of a call center. In addition to the notifications required under federal WARN, notice must also be given to the Local Workforce Development Board, and the chief elected official of each city and county government within which the termination, relocation or mass layoff occurs. (California Labor Code Section 1401)
Exceptions and Exemptions to Notice Requirements

Regular Federal, State, local and federally recognized Indian tribal governments are not covered.
(29 USC, 2102 (a); 20 CFR 639.3)

The following situations are exempt from notice:

There is an offer to transfer employee to a different site within a reasonable commuting distance.
(29 USC, 2101 (b) (2); 20 CFR 639.5)

The closure is due to unforeseeable business circumstances, a natural disaster.
(29 USC, 2103; 20 CFR 639.9)

The closing or layoff constitutes a strike or constitutes a lockout not intended to evade the requirement of this chapter.
[29 USC, 2103 (2)]

California WARN does not apply when the closing or layoff is the result of the completion of a particular project or undertaking of an employer subject to Wage Orders 11, 12 or 16, regulating the Motion Picture Industry, or Construction, Drilling, Logging and Mining Industries, and the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of that project or undertaking.
[California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (g)(1)]
The notice requirements do not apply to employees involved in seasonal employment where the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was seasonal and temporary.
[California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (g)(2)]
Notice is not required if a mass layoff, relocation or plant closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war.
[California Labor Code Section 1401 (c)]
Notice of a relocation or termination is not required where, under multiple and specific conditions, the employer submits documents to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the DIR determines that the employer was actively seeking capital or business, and a WARN notice would have precluded the employer from obtaining the capital or business. (California Labor Code Section 1402.5) This exception does not apply to notice of a mass layoff as defined in California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (d).
[California Labor Code Section 1402.5 (d)]
[California Labor Code Section 1400 (g)]

The notice requirements do not apply to employees involved in seasonal employment where the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was seasonal and temporary.
[California Labor Code Section 1400 (g)(2)]

Notice is not required if a mass layoff, relocation or plant closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war.
[California Labor Code Section 1401 (c)]

Notice of a relocation or termination is not required where, under multiple and specific conditions, the employer submits documents to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the DIR determines that the employer was actively seeking capital or business, and a WARN notice would have precluded the employer from obtaining the capital or business. (California Labor Code Section 1402.5) This exception does not apply to notice of a mass layoff as defined in California Labor Code Section 1400.5 (d).
[California Labor Code Section 1402.5 (d)]