Texas WARN Act Notice: Triggers, Contents, and Remedies

The Texas WARN Act is really the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, because Texas has not passed its own version. That means one rule applies to large layoffs and shutdowns in the state: a covered employer must give affected workers at least 60 calendar days of written notice before a qualifying plant closing or mass layoff.¹ Some states have added their own notice laws with lower thresholds or longer timelines. Texas has not, so the federal floor is also the ceiling.

Who the Law Covers

WARN applies to any business with 100 or more full-time employees, or 100 or more employees (including part-timers) whose combined weekly hours add up to at least 4,000, not counting overtime.² Industry doesn’t matter. Manufacturers, retailers, tech companies, and nonprofits are all covered if they hit those numbers.

Under the first test, a worker only counts if they average at least 20 hours a week and have been on the payroll at least 6 of the past 12 months. Anyone below either of those is considered part-time for WARN purposes.² A business that fails both versions of the 100-employee test is not covered at all.

What Triggers a Required Notice

Two kinds of events require notice: plant closings and mass layoffs. The numbers are different for each, and the counts look only at full-time employees.

A plant closing is a permanent or temporary shutdown of a worksite or a distinct operating unit within one, where 50 or more full-time workers lose their jobs during any 30-day window.² Even a shutdown the employer plans to reverse can qualify.

A mass layoff is a large reduction in force that doesn’t close the whole site. It triggers WARN when, within any 30-day period, job losses hit:

At least 50 full-time employees who also make up at least 33 percent of the site’s workforce, or
At least 500 full-time employees, no matter what percentage that is.²

The 500-employee rule is the one large employers sometimes miss. A site with 3,000 workers cutting 500 jobs doesn’t hit the 33 percent test, but WARN still applies.

Employers also can’t dodge the law by splitting one big cut into smaller rounds. If separate layoffs within any 90-day period individually fall short but together cross the threshold, each round needed notice, unless the employer can prove each action had an entirely separate cause.³

What the Notice Must Say and Who Gets It

The 60-day written notice has to reach four audiences before the first separation:¹

Each affected full-time worker without union representation, individually.
The chief elected officer of the union, where workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
The state dislocated worker unit, which in Texas is the Texas Workforce Commission.
The chief elected official of the local city or county government where the site sits. For a site that spans jurisdictions, notice goes to the one receiving the most tax revenue from the employer.

Each notice has to identify the worksite with address and a contact person’s phone number, state whether the action is permanent or temporary, give the expected date of the first separations, list the job titles being cut and the number of employees in each category, and for unionized workforces say whether bumping rights apply.⁴ A notice missing these elements can still be challenged.

When Employers Can Give Less Than 60 Days’ Notice

The statute allows shortened notice in three narrow situations. Only one of them eliminates the notice duty entirely. In all cases where notice is reduced, the employer still has to give as much warning as was practicable and include a written explanation of why 60 days wasn’t possible.¹

Faltering company. Applies only to plant closings, not mass layoffs. The employer must have been actively seeking capital or new business that would have prevented the shutdown, and must have reasonably believed in good faith that giving full notice would have scared off that financing or deal. Courts scrutinize this defense closely, and vague “we were looking for investors” claims rarely survive.
Unforeseeable business circumstances. The closing or layoff must have been caused by something sudden, dramatic, and outside the employer’s control that wasn’t reasonably foreseeable at the point 60-day notice would have been due. A major customer unexpectedly pulling its contract may qualify. A gradual sales decline usually will not.⁵
Natural disaster. No notice is required when a flood, earthquake, drought, or similar event directly causes the closing or layoff. This is the only exception that cancels the notice obligation entirely rather than just shortening it.

What You Can Recover If Your Employer Skipped Notice

An employer that orders a covered plant closing or mass layoff without proper notice owes each affected employee back pay and benefits for every day of the violation, capped at 60 days.⁶ Back pay is calculated at the higher of your average regular rate over the last three years or your final regular rate. The benefits piece includes things like the cost of health coverage you would have had during the notice period.

An employer that also fails to notify the local government faces a separate civil penalty of up to $500 per day. That penalty is waived if the employer pays each affected employee in full within three weeks of ordering the shutdown or layoff.⁶

Employers can reduce liability by wages actually paid during the violation period and by voluntary, unconditional payments not required by a separate obligation.⁶ So an employer that pays 60 days of wages in lieu of notice has essentially covered the damages. A severance package that happens to equal 60 days of pay does not automatically offset WARN liability, though. The payment has to be genuinely voluntary and not owed under some other contract or company policy.⁷

How WARN Is Enforced

WARN is enforced only through private lawsuits in federal district court. No government agency investigates violations or issues fines on workers’ behalf.⁸ You can file in the district where the violation occurred or where the employer does business. The Department of Labor publishes guidance about the law but cannot bring a case for you.

Most WARN claims are filed as class or collective actions, because one notice failure typically affects every worker at the site at once. If you think your employer violated the law, talk to an employment attorney early. These cases turn on specific facts, and the exceptions employers lean on, especially the unforeseeable circumstances defense, are often contested.

What Texas Does After a WARN Notice Is Filed

When the Texas Workforce Commission receives a WARN notice, it activates a Rapid Response team that coordinates reemployment services for affected workers. The team makes on-site contact with the employer and the workforce and assesses what kind of help workers will need based on their skills and the local job market.⁹

These services are free. They include help registering in WorkInTexas.com, assistance filing for unemployment insurance, information on training programs through local Workforce Solutions offices, and workshops on job searching and financial management. If the layoff is linked to foreign trade competition, the team can also help you apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance, which can fund extended training and income support.⁹

A WARN-covered layoff is also a qualifying event under COBRA for anyone who had employer-sponsored health insurance. Employers with 20 or more workers must offer continued group health coverage for up to 18 months, though you’ll typically pay the full premium plus a 2 percent administrative fee.¹⁰ The employer has to notify the health plan when the qualifying event happens.

Where to Find Texas WARN Filings

The Texas Workforce Commission publishes WARN notice data in Excel format on its website, covering plant closings and mass layoffs reported across the state.¹¹ The files list the company name, the affected location, and the number of workers impacted. Reports are organized by year, so you can track layoff activity by region or industry. The data is available through the TWC’s data and reports section without an account.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2102 – Notice Required Before Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2101 – Definitions, Exclusions From Definition of Loss of Employment
3
U.S. Department of Labor. WARN Advisor – Aggregation
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Employers Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs
5
U.S. Department of Labor. WARN Advisor – Unforeseeable Business Circumstances
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2104 – Liability
7
U.S. Department of Labor. WARN Advisor – Frequently Asked Questions
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Frequently Asked Questions
9
Texas Workforce Commission. Rapid Response Guide
10
U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers
11
Texas Workforce Commission. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Notices