How much notice does New York require for a mass layoff?

New York requires 90 days notice, which is 30 days more than the federal WARN Act. This is the single most important difference between NY WARN and federal WARN.

How is the NY WARN Act different from the federal WARN Act?

NY WARN requires 90 days notice (vs 60 federal), uses a company-wide employee count for qualification (vs site-level), has a lower employer threshold (50 vs 100), has a lower mass layoff trigger (25+ employees), has no faltering company exception, and covers part-time employees.

Does NY WARN count employees company-wide or at a single site?

The 50-employee minimum for employer qualification is measured company-wide, not just at the affected site. A company with 50 total employees across multiple states qualifies even if the New York site has only 10 workers. This is stricter than federal WARN, which measures the 100-employee threshold at the establishment level.

Does New York have a faltering company exception?

No. Like California, New York does not have a faltering company or financial distress exception. Employers in financial difficulty, fundraising, or in acquisition talks must still give the full 90 days notice. Only unforeseeable business circumstances and natural disasters may justify reduced notice.

What are the penalties for violating the New York WARN Act?

Employers who violate NY WARN owe each affected employee back pay and benefits for each day of violation, up to 60 days (not the full 90). They may also owe a civil penalty of $500 per day to the state for up to 60 days.

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Complete Guide

New York WARN Act

Q: What is the New York WARN Act?

The New York WARN Act (Labor Law § 860) requires employers with 50 or more employees (company-wide) to give 90 days advance written notice before a plant closing, mass layoff, or relocation. It applies to layoffs of 25 or more employees representing at least 33% of the workforce at a single site, or 250 or more employees regardless of percentage.

NY WARN Act (Labor Law § 860)

NY WARN requires 90 days notice, uses a company-wide employee count for qualification, and has no financial distress exception. Here is everything HR and legal teams need to know before a New York reduction in force.

90-day notice50+ employees company-wideCovers part-timeNo financial distress exceptionDual trigger thresholds

Overview Does NY WARN apply?Thresholds & triggers Company-wide employee count Part-time coverage No financial distress exception NY WARN vs. Federal Who gets notice What the notice must say Common mistakes Penalties FAQ

What is the New York WARN Act?

The New York WARN Act (Labor Law Article 25-A, § 860) requires employers to give advance written notice before a plant closing, mass layoff, or relocation. It is a state law that operates alongside the federal WARN Act. Employers must comply with both where both apply.

The single most important fact about NY WARN: it requires 90 days notice, not 60. This catches many employers who are familiar with the federal standard and assume New York is the same.

Beyond the longer notice period, NY WARN differs from federal WARN in how it counts qualifying employees (company-wide, not site-level), its lower thresholds, its part-time coverage, and the absence of a financial distress exception.

Does NY WARN apply to your layoff?

Work through these three questions in order. If you answer No to any of them, NY WARN does not apply to that event.

Does the employer have 50 or more full-time employees company-wide?

YesContinue to question 2.

NoNY WARN does not apply. Note: this count is company-wide, not just at the New York site.

Count all full-time employees across all locations nationwide, not just New York. Part-time employees (under 20 hrs/wk) and employees with less than 6 months tenure are excluded from this employer-qualification count.

Will the layoff affect 25 or more employees who represent at least 33% of the workforce at the site, OR 250 or more employees at the site regardless of percentage?

YesContinue to question 3.

NoNY WARN does not apply to this event. Both the count and the percentage must be met unless the count alone reaches 250.

For this threshold count, part-time employees (under 20 hrs/wk) are excluded. Employees with less than 6 months tenure are also excluded.

Is the event a plant closing, mass layoff, or relocation of 50 miles or more?

YesNY WARN applies. You must give 90 days written notice to all required recipients before the first separation.

NoNY WARN does not apply to this specific event type, though other obligations may.

NY WARN covers relocations of 50 miles or more, a lower distance trigger than the Cal-WARN 100-mile threshold.

Thresholds and triggers

NY WARN has two separate mass layoff triggers. Either one, if met, requires 90-day notice:

Trigger A

25+ employees AND 33% of the workforce

Both conditions must be met. Laying off 30 employees at a 200-person site is 15% of the workforce and does not trigger this threshold even though the count exceeds 25.

Trigger B

250+ employees regardless of percentage

No percentage requirement. If 250 or more employees at a single site are affected, NY WARN applies regardless of what share of the workforce that represents.

90-day notice, not 60

The federal WARN Act requires 60 days notice. NY WARN requires 90. If you are used to federal WARN timelines, you need to start the NY WARN clock 30 days earlier than you would for the federal notice. Missing this is the most common NY WARN compliance failure.

Employer qualification is company-wide

This is the most counterintuitive aspect of NY WARN. The 50-employee minimum that determines whether an employer is covered is measured company-wide, not at the affected site. Federal WARN measures the 100-employee threshold at the establishment level.

Scenario	Federal WARN covered?	NY WARN covered?
NY site: 30 employees. Company total: 80 employees.
NY site: 110 employees. Company total: 110 employees.
NY site: 40 employees. Company total: 40 employees.
NY site: 30 employees. Company total: 200 employees.

Practical implication: a national employer with a small New York office is almost certainly covered by NY WARN even if the New York site alone would not qualify.

Part-time employees

NY WARN has a nuanced approach to part-time workers that differs from both federal WARN and Cal-WARN:

Part-time employees are entitled to notice

If a part-time employee is affected by a covered layoff, they must receive the 90-day written notice. Federal WARN excludes part-time workers from receiving notice entirely.

Part-time workers are excluded from threshold counts

For purposes of determining whether the employer qualifies (50+ employees) and whether the layoff size trigger is met (25+ employees), part-time workers under 20 hours per week are not counted. This is a meaningful distinction from Cal-WARN, which counts them everywhere.

No financial distress exception

New York removed the faltering company exception

Federal WARN allows employers to shorten or skip notice if they were actively seeking capital and giving notice would have ruined the deal. New York does not. Employers in financial difficulty, actively fundraising, or in the middle of an acquisition must still give the full 90 days notice.

This matters most for startups and distressed companies that plan around the federal exception. A company that qualifies for the federal faltering company exception may still owe full NY WARN notice to its New York employees.

The two exceptions that do apply under NY WARN are:

Unforeseeable business circumstances
A sudden, dramatic, and unexpected event caused by conditions outside the employer's control. The standard is strict. A difficult quarter, a lost contract the company saw coming, or general economic conditions do not qualify.
Natural disaster
A flood, earthquake, drought, storm, tidal wave, or similar act of nature that directly caused the layoff or closing.

When an exception applies, employers must give as much notice as practicable and include a brief written explanation of why full notice was not possible.

NY WARN vs. Federal WARN

Factor	Federal WARN	NY WARN
Employer minimum	100+ employees (site-level)	50+ employees (company-wide)
Notice period	60 days	90 days
Mass layoff trigger A	50+ AND 33% of workforce	25+ AND 33% of workforce
Mass layoff trigger B	500+ regardless of %	250+ regardless of %
Part-time notice	Not entitled to notice	Entitled to notice
Part-time in threshold counts	Excluded	Excluded
Financial distress exception	Yes	No
Unforeseeable circumstances	Yes	Yes
Natural disaster exception	Yes	Yes
Covers relocation	No	Yes (50+ miles)
Aggregation window	90 days	90 days
Mandatory severance	No	No

Who must receive NY WARN notice

The 90-day written notice must be sent simultaneously to all of the following:

Each affected employee

Or their collective bargaining representative if the employees are unionized. Notice must be in writing and include the required content (see below).

New York State Department of Labor

Submitted to the Dislocated Worker Unit of the NY DOL. Can be filed online through the NY DOL WARN Act portal.

Local Workforce Development Board

The workforce development board for the area where the layoff occurs. If the affected site spans multiple workforce investment areas, notice goes to each relevant board.

Chief Elected Official of the local government

The mayor of the city (if the establishment is in a city) or the chair of the county legislature. For layoffs affecting sites in multiple municipalities, notice is sent to each.

What the notice must say

NY WARN does not prescribe a single form, but the regulations specify the required content for each notice. A defective notice that is missing required fields may not start the 90-day clock.

Required in each employee notice

Name and address of the employment site where the plant closing or mass layoff will occur
Name and phone number of a company official to contact for further information
Statement of whether the planned action is expected to be permanent or temporary, and if temporary, its expected duration
Expected date of the first separation
Anticipated schedule of separations (if they occur over multiple dates)
Job titles of affected positions and the names of workers currently holding those jobs
Bumping rights under any applicable collective bargaining agreement

Additional items required in notices to DOL, workforce board, and local officials

Name and address of the affected establishment and the employer's main office
Employer contact name and phone number
Whether the action is permanent or temporary
Expected date of first separation and the anticipated schedule
Job titles affected and the number of employees in each
Whether the workers are represented by a union; if yes, name and address of each union and its chief elected officer

Common NY WARN mistakes

NY WARN generates more compliance failures than most state mini-WARN laws because employers routinely apply federal WARN assumptions.

Using the 60-day federal timeline

The most common mistake. An employer familiar with federal WARN begins the notice process 62 days before the first separation and believes they are compliant. NY WARN requires 90 days. The entire notice period is legally deficient.

Checking only the New York site headcount for qualification

Federal WARN uses establishment-level counts. NY WARN uses company-wide counts. An employer with 30 New York employees and 80 employees nationwide is covered by NY WARN even though neither count independently reaches the federal 100-employee threshold.

Assuming the financial distress exception applies

A startup that qualifies for the federal faltering company exception may still owe full 90-day NY WARN notice. The exception does not exist under New York law. This is especially dangerous for companies in distress that plan their timeline around the federal carve-out.

Not notifying the local elected official

The mayor of the city or chair of the county legislature must receive notice simultaneously with the employees and the DOL. For layoffs in New York City, this means notifying the Mayor's office. This step is frequently skipped.

Misunderstanding the dual trigger

Trigger A (25+ AND 33%) requires both conditions. Some HR teams check the count alone and miss that a layoff of 40 employees at a 500-person site is only 8% of the workforce and does not meet trigger A. Trigger B (250+ with no percentage) would apply at that site, but only if the layoff reaches 250.

Missing the 90-day aggregation window

Like federal WARN, NY WARN aggregates employment losses within a rolling 90-day window. A round of 20 separations in February followed by 15 in April (within 90 days) totals 35, exceeding trigger A's 25-employee floor if the percentage is also met. Neither round alone looks like a violation.

Amber bar indicates mistakes most frequently cited in NY WARN litigation.

Penalties for non-compliance

An employer that fails to give the required 90-day notice is liable for:

Per employee

Back pay + benefits value

For each day of violation, up to 60 days (not 90). Includes wages, salary, and the value of any lost benefits such as health insurance and accrued holiday pay.

Civil penalty

$500/day to the state

Payable to the State of New York for up to 60 days. Unlike federal WARN, the penalty goes to the state rather than to a local government entity.

Penalty cap is 60 days, not 90

Even though the notice requirement is 90 days, the back-pay liability is capped at 60 days of violation. An employer that gives zero notice owes 60 days of back pay per employee, not 90. Voluntary payments made in good faith before a suit is filed can reduce this liability.

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Frequently asked questions

We have 45 employees in New York and 60 total nationally. Does NY WARN apply?

Yes. NY WARN qualification is based on company-wide headcount. With 60 total full-time employees nationwide, you exceed the 50-employee minimum. The layoff trigger (25+ employees AND 33% of the workforce at the site, or 250+ regardless) must also be met, but your company is a covered employer.

Do we need to comply with both NY WARN and federal WARN?

Yes. The laws are independent obligations. Complying with NY WARN (90 days) means your federal WARN notice (60 days) is already satisfied, but both sets of notice recipients must be properly notified under both laws.

Our company is in bankruptcy. Do we still need to give 90 days notice?

Generally yes. There is no financial distress or faltering company exception under NY WARN. Bankruptcy courts have addressed NY WARN obligations, and the consensus is that the notice requirement survives even in Chapter 11. Consult employment and bankruptcy counsel before proceeding.

Does NY WARN apply to temporary layoffs?

A temporary layoff that lasts more than 6 months is treated as a permanent layoff under NY WARN. If at the time of the layoff the employer knows or reasonably should know that the layoff will last more than 6 months, WARN notice is required from the outset.

We are moving our New York office to New Jersey, about 40 miles away. Does NY WARN apply?

No, not for a relocation. NY WARN covers relocations of 50 miles or more. A 40-mile move does not trigger the relocation provision. However, if the move causes employees to be laid off who refuse to relocate, those separations may still count toward the mass layoff trigger.

Related resources

WARN Act: State-by-State Reference New York WARN Act: quick reference California WARN Act guide New Jersey WARN Act guide

This guide is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Always verify with qualified employment counsel before a reduction in force.

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