Washington State Requires WARNing to Laid-Off Employees

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Patricia Tsipras

July 10, 2025

Washington State recently passed the Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act (Act).  The Act – which becomes effective on July 27, 2025 – requires employers of 50 or more employees in Washington State to provide 60 days’ advance notice to certain workers facing employment loss due to a business closing or mass layoff.  See WA S.B. 5525.  The Act’s requirements are in addition to any requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which applies to larger employers.

What Is a Business Closing?
A “business closing” is a shutdown of a single site of employment of one or more facilities that will result in “employment loss” for 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees.

What Is an Employment Loss?
An “employment loss” includes an employment termination, a layoff exceeding six months, or a reduction of an individual employee’s work hours of more than 50 percent during each month in a six-month period.

What Is a Mass Layoff?
A “mass layoff” is a reduction in force that is not a business closing but results in an employment loss during any 30-day period of 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees.

What Notice Is Required?
The 60-day period begins when the employer serves written notice containing specific information regarding the closing or layoff to affected employees (or their bargaining representative) and the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD).

The notice must include the requirements of the federal WARN Act as they exist on the effective date of Washington’s Act.  The notice also must include:

• the name and address of the site where the business closing or mass layoff will occur
• the name and contact information of a company official to contact for further information
• a statement of whether the planned action is expected to be permanent or temporary
• if the entire business is to be closed, a statement to that effect
• if the planned action is expected to be temporary, the statement must include whether the planned action is expected to last longer or shorter than three months
• the expected date of the first employment loss and the anticipated schedule for employment losses
• the job titles of positions to be affected and the names of the employees currently holding affected jobs
• whether the mass layoff or business closing is the result of, or will result in, the relocation or contracting out of the employer’s operations or the affected employees’ positions

The notice provided to the ESD must also include the address of each affected employee.

Do Exceptions to the Notice Requirement Exist?
Yes.  An employer does not have to provide 60 days’ notice if:

1. at the time notice would be required, the employer (a) is actively seeking capital or business; (b) the employer reasonably and in good faith believes that advance notice would preclude its ability to obtain the capital or business; and (c) the new capital or business would allow the employer to avoid or postpone the shutdown for a reasonable period.
2. the closing or mass layoff is caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice is required.
3. the closing or mass layoff is the direct result of a natural disaster.
4. the mass layoff is the result of the completion of a construction project and the affected employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of the project.
5. the mass layoff is the result of the completion of a multiemployer construction project employing persons who are subject to a full union referral or dispatch system.

If one of these exceptions applies only for part of the 60-day notice window, notice is required at the time the exception no longer applies.

Are Any Employees Safe from Layoff?
Yes.  An employer may not include an employee in a mass layoff if the employee is currently on paid family or medical leave, unless the mass layoff is the result of an unforeseeable business circumstance, a natural disaster, the completion of a construction project, or the completion of a multiemployer construction project.

What Are the Penalties for Noncompliance?
An employer who violates the Act is liable to each affected employee for an amount equal to back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to 60 days.  “Benefits” includes medical expenses that would have been covered by the employee benefit plan.

An employer may reduce the amount owed by:

• any wages that the employer pays during the period of violation
• any voluntary and unconditional payment not required by a legal obligation
• any amount paid by the employer to the employee pursuant to the federal WARN Act
• any payment by the employer to a third party or trustee on behalf of and attributable to the employee during the period of violation

The ESD, an aggrieved employee, or the bargaining representative of an aggrieved employee may bring a civil action against an employer for violation of the Act.  The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

An employer who fails to provide the required notice is also subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each day of violation.  An employer may avoid the penalty if it satisfies its liability to each affected employee within three weeks after the employer orders the mass layoff or closing.

Takeaways
 The requirements of the federal WARN Act and Washington’s new law are complex.  Consult legal counsel well in advance of executing a business closing or mass layoff to ensure that you are compliant.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Washington, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.