Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act of 1988

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act protects workers from the impacts of unexpected loss of employment by requiring employers to give notice to employees. Both federal and state laws impose notice requirements on employers in certain situations.

The Iowa state WARN Act requires employers to give employees 30-days’ notice of a permanent or temporary closure or mass layoff of 25 or more full-time employees for a period exceeding 6 months.

The federal WARN Act requires employers to give employees 60-day notice when:

• Closing a facility or discontinuing an operating unit will lead to loss of employment for at least 50 employees from a single work site; provided, however, this requirement does not apply to employees who work an average of fewer than 20 hours a week, or fewer than six months in the last 12 months.  
• At least 500 employees at a single employment site will be laid off during a 30-day period, or at least 50 employees comprising at least 33% of the University’s active workforce who work at the single employment site. The act does not cover employees who have worked for fewer than six months or those who work fewer than 20 hours a week. 
• The work hours of 50 or more workers are reduced by 50% or more for each month in any 6-month period.