WARN Act: What are the exceptions to WARN Notice Requirement?

We invite your attention to our disclaimer.

There are three exceptions to the full 60-day notice requirement. However, in all cases, notice must be provided as soon as it is practicable. When notice is given in less than the 60-day timeframe, the employer must include a state­ment of the reason for providing less than 60 days’ notice in addition to fulfill­ing the other information notice requirements. The exceptions to providing the full 60-day notice are as follows:

Faltering Company

  • A “faltering company” is not required to give notice of a layoff or plant closing when, before the plant closing, it is actively seeking capital or business, which if obtained would avoid or postpone the layoff or clo­sure, and if it reasonably believes that advance notice would hurt its ability to find the capital or business it needs to continue operating; or

Unforeseen Business Circumstance

  • A business is not required to give a full 60-day’s notice if it could not reasonably foresee business circumstances that led to a layoff or closing at the time that the 60-day notice would have been required, (e.g., a business circumstance that is caused by some sudden, dra­matic, and unexpected action or conditions outside the employer’s control like the unexpected cancellation of a major order); or

Natural Disaster

  • A business is not required to give notice if a layoff or plant closing is the direct result of a natural disaster (i.e., hurricane, flood, earth­quake, tornado, storm, drought, or similar effect of nature).
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