The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ("WARN") Act is getting a lot of airplay these days; that’s the federal law that requires qualifying employers to give 60 days’ notice of a plant closing, a layoff of 500 or more people at one location, or a cut of at least one-third of the work force at a site.  But many critics of the WARN act think it doesn’t go far enough because it covers only the largest layoffs by the largest employers.  Now, some economists are calling for a tougher, broader WARN Act.

We’ll be watching to see if these calls for revising the WARN Act gain traction in Congress this term.  For now, there are resources out there to help you cope with the current version of WARN:

• For a basic overview of the law, here’s a basic WARN Act Fact Sheet.
• For more detailed information, download the Employer’s Guide to the WARN Act (a great resource and our personal favorite).
• Next, if your layoff is caused by an "act of God," you might want to download the WARN Act Natural Disaster Fact Sheet.
• And finally, you can read what the DOL is telling your employees:  the Workers’ Guide to the WARN Act, and for Spanish-speaking employees, the Guía para el Trabajadores.