Short answer: if you were laid off in California by an employer with 75 or more people at your worksite, and 50 or more employees were let go within a 30 day period, or your site shut down, or it moved 100 miles or more away, the California WARN Act required 60 days’ advance written notice to you and to three government recipients. If that notice was not given, the employer owes back pay and the value of your lost benefits for each day of the violation, up to 60 days, and a court may add attorney fees. Abdi & Associates, Inc. helps individuals with employment law matters throughout California, including layoff notice claims, which are usually brought for the whole affected group rather than one person alone. Free consultation. Call 24/7, English and Spanish: (888) 772-2529. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Do you have a case? Signs that you should call
- You were laid off with less than 60 days’ written notice, or with no written notice at all.
- You were told in a meeting, a video call or a mass email that the same day, or that week, was your last day.
- Roughly 50 or more people at your location lost their jobs within about a month of each other, in one announcement or in waves.
- Your worksite closed, stopped operating, or moved to a location 100 miles or more away.
- Your employer had 75 or more people at that site at some point in the last 12 months, counting everyone, not only full time staff.
- You worked at that site for at least six of the twelve months before the layoff.
- You were handed a severance agreement, a deadline to sign it, and a release of claims.
If two or more of these describe your situation, it is worth a call. The consultation is free and confidential.
What to do in the first days after the layoff
- Keep every document. Save the layoff letter or email, any WARN notice, the severance package, pay stubs and benefit statements, and forward them to a personal email address before your work account closes.
- Write down the dates. When you were first told, the last day of work you were given, when your health coverage ended, and roughly how many others were let go and when. Those dates decide the size of a WARN claim.
- Do not sign a release yet. A severance agreement usually releases every claim you have, and that can include a WARN claim worth more than the severance offered. See our page on severance agreement review.
- Check whether a WARN notice was filed. The notice must go to the Employment Development Department, and the EDD publishes reports of the notices it receives. If your employer filed nothing, that is meaningful.
- Apply for unemployment immediately. A pending WARN claim does not stop you from collecting unemployment insurance.
- Call before you sign anything. Layoff claims move as a group, and the earlier the group is identified, the better the claim works.
What the California WARN Act requires
The statute is Labor Code sections 1400 through 1408, and section 1400 says the chapter may be cited as the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, or Cal/WARN Act. It is broader than federal law in the ways that matter most to California workers: it reaches smaller employers, it counts part time workers, and it covers relocations.
Which employers and which worksites are covered
Cal/WARN applies to a covered establishment, which Labor Code section 1400.5(a) defines as any industrial or commercial facility or part of one that employs, or has employed within the preceding 12 months, 75 or more persons. Two points are easy to miss: the threshold is 75 persons, not 75 full time employees, so part time and short tenure workers count toward it, and the test looks back 12 months, so an employer that has already shrunk below 75 can still be covered.
An employer under section 1400.5(b) is any person who directly or indirectly owns and operates a covered establishment, and a parent corporation is an employer as to any covered establishment owned and operated by its subsidiary. An employee under section 1400.5(h) is a person employed by that employer for at least six of the 12 months preceding the date notice was required. Section 1400.5(g) carves out employees hired for a particular project in the broadcasting, motion picture or construction industries who understood at hire that the work was limited to that project, and seasonal employees hired with the understanding that the work was seasonal and temporary.
The three events that trigger notice
- Mass layoff: a layoff during any 30 day period of 50 or more employees at a covered establishment (section 1400.5(d)). A layoff is a separation from a position for lack of funds or lack of work (section 1400.5(c)). There is no percentage requirement in California, unlike federal law.
- Relocation: the removal of all or substantially all of the industrial or commercial operations in a covered establishment to a different location 100 miles or more away (section 1400.5(e)).
- Termination: the cessation or substantial cessation of industrial or commercial operations in a covered establishment (section 1400.5(f)).
Sixty days’ written notice, and everyone who must receive it
Labor Code section 1401(a) says an employer may not order a mass layoff, relocation or termination at a covered establishment unless, 60 days before, it gives written notice to (1) the employees of the covered establishment affected by the order, and (2) the Employment Development Department, the local workforce development board, and the chief elected official of each city and county government within which the event occurs. Notice to the workers alone is not compliance, and notice to the agencies alone is not compliance.
The content is set by statute. Section 1401(b) requires the elements required by the federal WARN Act. Effective January 1, 2026, Senate Bill 617 added three more, described in the EDD’s information notice WSIN25-14: whether the employer intends to coordinate services such as a rapid response orientation through the local workforce development board, another entity, or not at all, with the board’s contact information and a description of rapid response activities (section 1401(c)); an overview of CalFresh food assistance with the benefits helpline and website link (section 1401(d)); and a functioning email address and telephone number for the employer (section 1401(e)).
Laid off with less than 60 days’ written notice? Call (888) 772-2529, 24/7, English or Spanish, before you sign a severance agreement. The consultation is free.
What you can recover for a WARN violation
Labor Code section 1402 sets the remedy, and section 1404 allows a civil action on behalf of one person, others similarly situated, or both.
| What | How it is measured | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Back pay | The average regular rate of compensation received during the last three years of employment, or the final rate, whichever is higher, for each day of the violation | Lab. Code § 1402(a)(1) |
| Value of benefits | The cost of benefits the employee would have been entitled to, including medical expenses that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan | Lab. Code § 1402(a)(2) |
| Maximum period | The period of the violation, up to 60 days, or one half the number of days the employee was employed, whichever is smaller | Lab. Code § 1402(b) |
| Offsets | Wages paid during the violation period other than accrued vacation; voluntary and unconditional payments not required by any legal obligation; and payments to a third party or trustee on the employee’s behalf, such as health premiums or pension contributions | Lab. Code § 1402(c) |
| Civil penalty | Not more than $500 for each day of the violation for failing to give the government notice, unless the employer pays all applicable employees what it owes under section 1402 within three weeks of ordering the event | Lab. Code § 1403 |
| Attorney fees | The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees as part of costs to a prevailing plaintiff | Lab. Code § 1404 |
Two consequences follow. The half of days employed cap means a worker with about four months on the job recovers less than 60 days, so tenure matters. And because voluntary severance offsets the award, an employer that paid real severance may owe less, which is why the paperwork should be read before it is signed. Section 1405 also lets a court reduce a penalty where the employer investigated in good faith and reasonably believed its conduct was lawful, and section 1406 lets the Labor Commissioner examine the employer’s books and records and enforce the notice requirement by citation.
The exceptions an employer may raise
- Physical calamity or act of war. Section 1401(f) excuses notice if the event is necessitated by a physical calamity or an act of war. A bad quarter, a lost customer or a failed funding round is not a physical calamity.
- Faltering company. Section 1402.5 excuses employee notice only if the EDD determines that, when notice would have been required, the employer was actively seeking capital or business that would have let it avoid or postpone the event, and reasonably and in good faith believed that giving notice would have precluded it from obtaining that capital or business. The employer must give the department a written record of the relevant documents plus an affidavit verifying them under penalty of perjury. Critically, section 1402.5 does not apply to a mass layoff. It reaches only a relocation or a termination.
California has no general unforeseeable business circumstances excuse of the kind federal law provides. That is one of the most important differences between the two statutes.
California WARN compared with federal WARN
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act is codified at 29 U.S.C. sections 2101 to 2109, with regulations at 20 C.F.R. Part 639. You may be covered by the California statute only, by both, or by neither. Being outside one does not answer the other.
| Issue | California WARN | Federal WARN |
|---|---|---|
| Employer size | A facility employing, or having employed in the past 12 months, 75 or more persons | 100 or more employees excluding part time employees, or 100 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 4,000 hours per week |
| Part time workers | Counted toward the 75; an employee entitled to notice must have worked 6 of the last 12 months | Excluded from the thresholds. A part time employee averages fewer than 20 hours per week or has worked fewer than 6 of the preceding 12 months |
| Layoff trigger | 50 or more employees laid off at the establishment in any 30 day period, with no percentage requirement | Employment loss for at least 33 percent of the workforce and at least 50 employees at a single site in 30 days, or 500 or more employees |
| Closure trigger | Cessation or substantial cessation of operations at the covered establishment | Shutdown of a single site causing employment loss for 50 or more employees in any 30 day period |
| Relocation | Covered: moving all or substantially all operations 100 miles or more away | Not covered as such |
| Notice period | 60 days’ written notice | 60 days’ written notice |
| Who is notified | Affected employees, EDD, the local workforce development board, and the chief elected official of each city and county | Each union representative or, if none, each affected employee; the state rapid response entity; and the chief elected official of the local government unit |
| Exceptions | Physical calamity or act of war; faltering company for relocation or termination only, on an EDD determination | Faltering company (plant closings), unforeseeable business circumstances, and natural disaster, each requiring as much notice as is practicable plus a statement of the basis |
| Back pay | Same measure under both: the higher of the three year average or final regular rate, plus benefits, for the violation period, capped at 60 days or one half the days employed, whichever is less | |
| Civil penalty | Up to $500 per day, avoidable by paying employees in full within 3 weeks | Up to $500 per day, payable to the local government, avoidable the same way |
| Attorney fees | Court may award fees as part of costs to a prevailing plaintiff | Court may allow the prevailing party a reasonable fee as part of costs |
One federal concept has no California equivalent. An employment loss under 29 U.S.C. section 2101(a)(6) includes not only a termination but also a layoff exceeding six months and a reduction in hours of more than 50 percent in each month of any six month period. A long furlough or a deep permanent hour cut can be a federal WARN event even if nobody used the word layoff.
How long do you have to bring a WARN claim?
The California WARN Act does not state a limitations period. Sections 1400 through 1408 contain no deadline for filing suit. That does not mean the claim lasts indefinitely: courts apply the limitations period that fits the theory pleaded, and the applicable period is short. Because the answer depends on how the claim is framed, and because the claims that usually travel with a layoff carry their own separate and sometimes very short deadlines, call promptly rather than leaving this for later. Our page on how long you have to sue after a termination explains why deadlines in this area vary by claim.
Situations that come up in almost every layoff
Severance agreements that release WARN claims
Most layoff severance packages release all claims arising out of the employment, and a WARN claim is one of them. That release can be worth far more than the severance offered, especially when 60 days of pay and benefits is on the table and the offer is two weeks. If you are 40 or older and the package is part of a group termination program, 29 U.S.C. section 626(f) requires at least 45 days to consider a group offer (21 days for an individual offer), at least 7 days to revoke after signing, and written disclosure of the job titles and ages of everyone selected and not selected. Use that time.
Unemployment insurance while a WARN claim is pending
File for unemployment right away. Labor Code section 1407 provides that payments made because an employer failed to give the required notice are not wages under the Unemployment Insurance Code, and that benefits may not be denied or reduced because of the receipt of payments related to a WARN violation. Severance paid for other reasons can be treated differently, so report accurately.
Staffing agencies, contractors and remote workers
If you were placed through a staffing agency, the first question is which entity owns and operates the covered establishment, because that is how section 1400.5(b) defines the employer, and whether that establishment employed 75 or more persons in the past 12 months. Remote work raises a similar problem: Cal/WARN is built around a covered establishment, a physical facility, and the definitions do not address remote employees assigned to a California site, so the answer depends on the facts. We will not guess at either here. Call and we will look at the specifics.
Claims are usually brought for the group
Section 1404 expressly allows a person, including an employee representative, to sue on behalf of others similarly situated, and federal WARN does the same. Layoff notice claims are ordinarily brought for the whole affected group because the violation is identical for everyone. You do not have to organize your coworkers before calling.
What else usually travels with a layoff
Final wages are due immediately on discharge under Labor Code section 201, and a willful failure to pay them can add a waiting time penalty of up to 30 days of wages under section 203. See unpaid wages and how long an employer can go without paying you. If the selection for layoff was really about age, disability, pregnancy, race, or because you had complained about something, it may also be a wrongful termination or an act of retaliation.
How Abdi & Associates can help
Abdi & Associates, Inc. helps individuals with employment law matters throughout California. We evaluate the claim, explain which laws and deadlines apply, and, where a case calls for it, work with experienced employment trial counsel we trust while staying involved in your case. When a workplace problem follows a work injury, we handle the workers’ compensation claim and any Labor Code section 132a petition in-house and coordinate the employment claim with it. We work remotely, by phone, video and secure electronic signature.
On the first call we will ask what you were told and when, what your last day was, how many people were let go and over what period, roughly how many worked at your location, and whether you received anything in writing or a severance agreement. From there we check whether a WARN notice was filed with the EDD, work out whether the 75 person and 50 employee thresholds are met, calculate what 60 days of pay and benefits is worth against the offsets in section 1402, and tell you plainly whether we think there is a claim. Consultations are free and confidential, in English or Spanish, and there is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. If you have a signing deadline, say so when you call.
Frequently asked questions
Does my employer have to give 60 days’ notice before a layoff in California?
Only if the California WARN Act applies. It applies when a facility that employs, or employed in the past 12 months, 75 or more persons lays off 50 or more employees in any 30 day period, shuts down, or moves operations 100 miles or more away. If that fits, Labor Code section 1401 required 60 days’ written notice to you and to the EDD, the local workforce development board and the chief elected official of each affected city and county.
I was told my last day was today. Is that automatically illegal?
Not automatically. Same day terminations are lawful for an individual firing in an at-will state. What makes it unlawful is the combination of a covered establishment, a qualifying group event, and no 60 days’ written notice. That is why the number of people let go and the size of the worksite matter so much.
My company has fewer than 100 employees. Am I out of luck?
No. The federal statute uses a 100 employee threshold, but California uses 75 persons at the covered establishment and counts part time workers toward it. Many California workers are protected by the state statute when the federal one does not apply, and it is possible to be covered by both.
My employer gave me severance instead of notice. Does that satisfy WARN?
Severance is not a substitute for notice, but under section 1402(c) voluntary and unconditional payments the employer was not legally obligated to make reduce what it owes for the violation. Whether a particular payment offsets the claim depends on how it was paid and what the paperwork says.
Can my employer skip notice because business suddenly got bad?
Federal WARN has an unforeseeable business circumstances exception. California does not. The only California excuses are a physical calamity or act of war under section 1401(f), and the faltering company provision in section 1402.5, which requires an EDD determination and a sworn record and does not apply to a mass layoff at all.
Can I collect unemployment while a WARN claim is pending?
Yes, and you should apply immediately. Labor Code section 1407 provides that unemployment benefits may not be denied or reduced because you received payments related to an employer’s WARN violation, and that such payments are not treated as wages under the Unemployment Insurance Code.
I already signed the severance agreement. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Some agreements include a revocation window, and if you are 40 or older and were part of a group termination program, federal law required at least 45 days to consider it and 7 days to revoke after signing. Have it looked at rather than assuming the door is closed.
How much is a WARN claim worth?
The statute measures it: back pay at the higher of your three year average or final regular rate, plus the cost of lost benefits, for each day of the violation, capped at 60 days or one half the days you were employed, whichever is less, and reduced by the offsets in section 1402(c). A court may also award attorney fees.
Do you handle layoffs outside Los Angeles?
Yes. Abdi & Associates helps individuals with employment matters throughout California, by phone or video, in English and Spanish. See our California employment law overview for the other claims that often arise alongside a layoff.
Related pages
- Wrongful termination in California
- Employment lawyer for California workers
- Severance agreements in California
- Retaliation for speaking up at work
- Unpaid wages and final paychecks
- Wage theft claims
- How long do I have to sue after being fired?
- Contact Abdi & Associates
Laid off without 60 days’ notice in California? Call (888) 772-2529, 24/7, in English or Spanish, for a free and confidential consultation, or use the form below. No attorney fee unless there is a recovery.
Primary sources: Cal. Lab. Code §§ 1400, 1400.5, 1401, 1402, 1402.5, 1403, 1404, 1405, 1406, 1407, 1408 (Cal/WARN Act, as amended by Sen. Bill 617, operative January 1, 2026); Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201, 203; 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101, 2102, 2104 (federal WARN Act); 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) (Older Workers Benefit Protection Act waiver requirements); 20 C.F.R. Part 639, § 639.3; California Employment Development Department, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), and Workforce Services Information Notice WSIN25-14.
Reviewed by Shawn Abdi, Esq., Abdi & Associates, Inc. Published: September 10, 2026. Attorney advertising. This page is general information, not legal advice about your specific situation. Legal deadlines have exceptions; confirm yours with an attorney. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.