California WARN Act: rules for employers

California WARN Act requirements generally cover establishments with 75 or more employees and require 60 days’ written notice before a covered mass layoff, termination or relocation. Cal-WARN can apply when federal WARN does not. As of November 2026, notices must also include the worker-service and coordination information added by SB 617. Source: California EDD.

SB 951 adds more notice content from January 1, 2027, for a covered action caused in whole or in substantial part by AI or other automated technology. Source: SB 951 chaptered text.

Start with the establishment’s staffing history and the proposed action. Put both on the same worksheet before approving a closure date. Your wind-down plan should identify who owns the notice decision, employee roster, payroll reserve and delivery evidence.

01Looking for filed WARN notices?

For an employer’s filed notice, use EDD’s official WARN reports, with a current spreadsheet and prior-year reports under “Reports, Records, and Additional Contacts.” Opened and checked November 4, 2026. These reports are the lookup starting point; the sections below help an employer prepare its own review.

02WARN Act California coverage and counting rules

EDD’s federal-state comparison describes a covered establishment as one employing, or having employed during the preceding 12 months, at least 75 full-time and part-time employees. This differs from the ordinary federal 100-employee test and its part-time exclusions. Source: EDD employer guide.

California’s employee definition also requires employment for at least six of the 12 months before notice is required. Do not assume that everyone in a payroll export belongs in every calculation, or that federal treatment of a newer or part-time worker controls California treatment. Source: EDD WARN FAQ.

Build a roster with start dates, work location, average hours and the proposed last day. Preserve the historical headcount behind your coverage conclusion. A current total below 75 is insufficient by itself when the establishment previously had a larger workforce.

Example: A location now has 68 employees after earlier reductions, but had more than 75 during the preceding year. Have counsel review its historical coverage before relying on today’s smaller number. Review the earlier and proposed actions together so the notice analysis reflects the complete shutdown plan.

For remote workers, shared facilities or an acquisition, ask for an express conclusion about the employer and establishment involved. Give counsel the organization chart and actual reporting relationships. An address in the HR system may be a starting point, but it should not be the whole explanation.

03Events that trigger a California WARN notice

Cal-WARN distinguishes a mass layoff from termination and relocation. EDD describes the principal triggers as 50 or more layoffs in a 30-day period, a covered plant or facility closure, and a relocation of at least 100 miles. A covered termination or relocation can trigger notice without 50 employees losing jobs. Source: EDD comparison.

Avoid treating the word “temporary” as a completed legal analysis. Describe what work stops, who remains employed, the proposed return date and what supports that date. The reviewer needs the underlying facts rather than the label used in an announcement.

Example: You are closing a covered facility with fewer than 50 employees still on staff. Ask whether the closure is a covered termination. A spreadsheet showing fewer than 50 remaining layoffs answers only one part of the review.

04Compare Cal-WARN with federal WARN

The federal WARN guide explains the separate employer, event and aggregation tests. Federal mass-layoff coverage generally requires 50–499 qualifying losses and at least 33% of the workforce, or 500 or more qualifying losses; the federal plant-closing test is different. Source: DOL regulations.

Do both reviews and record both conclusions. Keep a column for the source, the coverage result and the required notice date under each law. If the same document will serve both, have counsel check its content and recipients against both sets of requirements.

Multistate operations need a location-specific review. The Illinois WARN rules use another set of thresholds, while the Texas WARN guide addresses federal notice and the Texas Workforce Commission process. A single company announcement can sit above several different compliance timetables.

05What changed under SB 617 in January 2026

EDD confirms that SB 617 amended Labor Code section 1401 effective January 1, 2026. Your notice must state whether you plan to coordinate Rapid Response services through the local workforce development board, another entity, or neither. If you select the board or another entity, coordination must occur within 30 days of the notice date. Source: EDD amendment bulletin.

The amendment also requires worker-service information: a Rapid Response description, a CalFresh overview with its helpline and website, employer telephone and email contact information, and the applicable workforce board’s telephone and email information. Use EDD’s current instructions for the required program language and contact details. Source: EDD amendment bulletin.

Replace older notice templates before drafting the announcement. Put the coordination choice in the approval checklist and name the person responsible for following through. If you choose services, calendar the coordination deadline separately from the separation date.

This is a confirmed 2026 notice-content amendment. Do not infer that it reduced the general 60-day advance-notice period or changed the establishment threshold. The updated EDD instructions continue to describe those existing requirements.

Ask the service coordinator to confirm the correct local board for every affected site. Keep the contact information consistent across employee and agency copies. If several people are editing the package, use a single approved block for program information so older language does not reappear in a late revision.

06What SB 951 adds from January 2027

SB 951 is chapter 860 of the Statutes of 2026. The Governor signed it on September 30, 2026, and it takes effect on January 1, 2027. It amends Labor Code sections 1400.5 and 1401 and adds a temporary section 1402.7, which requires EDD to report to the Legislature on AI and hiring by January 1, 2028. Source: SB 951 chaptered text.

The new content applies when a mass layoff, relocation or termination is caused in whole or in substantial part by an AI system or other automated technology replacing or automating employment positions. In that case, the notice must also include:

1. The statement “This notice is for a technology displacement” at the top of the notice.
2. The number, classification or occupation, and work location of the layoffs substantially due to replacement or automation by AI or other automated technology.
3. The job functions those workers performed that will be automated.
4. The specific category or type of AI system or other automating technology that substantially resulted in the displacement.

These items are in addition to the SB 617 content, which stays in force. SB 951 leaves the 75-person establishment test, the 50-employee mass-layoff count, the 60-day notice period and the back-pay and civil-penalty sections unchanged. EDD must publish a summary of these notices on its website and post a quarterly statewide summary of technology displacements. Source: SB 951 chaptered text.

The law defines AI but leaves “other automated technology” and “in substantial part” undefined. Record the business reason for each eliminated position while the decision is being made, and ask counsel whether the disclosure applies. If you are preparing a notice close to January 1, 2027, ask counsel which content rules govern it.

07Recipients, timing and notice content

California recipients include affected employees, EDD, the local workforce development board and the chief elected officials of the affected city and county governments. EDD’s guidance requires receipt at least 60 days before the covered action. Check its current submission instructions rather than relying on an old email chain. Source: EDD employer guide.

Prepare a recipient register with a named owner for each delivery. For employee notices, check current addresses and the intended method of receipt. For government recipients, confirm the office and contact details for the affected location.

The notice package should identify the employment site, company contact, whether the action is permanent or temporary, whether the whole plant closes, the first separation date and subsequent schedule, and affected job titles and counts. EDD asks for information by location when multiple sites are involved. Its current instructions also incorporate the SB 617 service information. Source: EDD WARN instructions.

Use the following sequence to make the package reviewable:

1. Freeze a dated roster for the proposed action and identify unresolved employee classifications.
2. Obtain the federal and California coverage conclusions from employment counsel.
3. Draft the employee, representative and government versions required for your situation.
4. Check separation dates, job counts, contacts and service information against the same worksheet.
5. Approve the delivery plan and keep evidence of receipt with the final versions.
6. Assign responsibility for workforce-service coordination and later schedule changes.

This sequence is an operating control. It gives the owner, HR, payroll and counsel a common set of facts to approve. Reopen the review if management moves the closure date, changes locations or adds another reduction.

08Short notice and potential liability

EDD identifies potential Cal-WARN liability for back pay and benefits during the violation period, up to 60 days, and a civil penalty of up to $500 per day. The Labor Commissioner handles California WARN enforcement. Source: EDD WARN comparison.

Have counsel examine any proposed exception under California law. A federal exception for unforeseeable business circumstances does not establish a California exception. Give the reviewer a dated account of the events, documents supporting it and the earliest realistic delivery date.

If the deadline has already become difficult, prepare the available facts immediately. Preserve funding correspondence and the decision chronology. Avoid allowing an argument about the exception to delay work on the recipient list, payroll calculation or usable notice package.

Ask counsel for the exposure calculation and a written recommendation on next actions. Keep that recommendation separate from the employee-facing explanation. The employee communication should use clear, settled facts about dates and contacts.

09Final wages need their own plan

California generally requires earned wages immediately on discharge under Labor Code section 201. That deadline is separate from WARN notice. Use the final paycheck laws by state guide to assign payroll deadlines across your locations, and confirm California calculations with payroll and counsel. Source: California Labor Commissioner.

Before the announcement, ask payroll to show the proposed final payment for each departing employee. Reconcile time records, earned vacation, variable compensation and payment instructions. Keep enough payroll access after the closure to investigate errors and issue corrections.

Preserve the working records used for the notice and wage decisions. Give an owner responsibility for access after managers and payroll staff leave. A closure plan is easier to execute when the evidence and the person who can explain it remain available.

10Printable California extension to the employer worksheet

Print the federal scoping worksheet and attach these California fields. Keep two sets of counts; federal exclusions do not establish California exclusions.

1. Establishment history: location/unit: ______; highest supported headcount and date in the preceding 12 months: ______. Review the 75-employee covered-establishment test, including full-time and part-time staff. Record each worker’s service history for California’s six-of-12-month employee definition. Do not discard a worker solely for averaging fewer than 20 hours weekly. EDD comparison and EDD FAQ.
2. Action and dates: list each separation and each rolling 30-day total: ______. Compare the 50-layoff trigger without a percentage test; separately describe any termination of operations or relocation of at least 100 miles. A covered closure or relocation does not depend on 50 layoffs. Record any federal 90-day groups on the federal sheet and ask counsel whether California treats related waves together. EDD comparison.
3. Locations and recipients: attach the establishment map, missing site/remote-worker facts and a recipient register for employees, EDD, the local workforce board and affected city/county chief elected officials. Enter a proposed receipt date at least 60 days before the action, the delivery owner and evidence. Check current notice content, including service-coordination information, against EDD’s instructions. EDD notice instructions.

Sources opened and checked November 4, 2026. Before deciding: verify the historical roster, state employee classifications, site boundaries, every separation date and recipient. Ask counsel which state and federal tests apply, how related waves are treated, and which notice-content rules govern the proposed dates. Counsel assesses legal sufficiency; the authorized employer approves the notice and operating timetable. This worksheet gives no coverage verdict.

11Next steps

Complete the coverage worksheet, update the notice for SB 617, verify every recipient and fund final payroll. Add the approved dates and owners to your wind-down plan before sending the announcement.

Frequently asked questions

Does Cal-WARN cover part-time employees?

California counts full-time and part-time employees toward the covered-establishment threshold. The employee definition includes a six-month service requirement; apply the state definitions separately from federal WARN.

What changed in California WARN notices in 2026?

SB 617 took effect January 1, 2026. It added coordination, worker-service, CalFresh and contact information requirements to notices, with a 30-day coordination obligation when the employer chooses a workforce board or another entity. SB 951, signed on September 30, 2026, adds further disclosures from January 1, 2027, when AI or other automated technology causes the action in whole or in substantial part.

Does a California plant closure require 50 layoffs?

The 50-employee threshold applies to a mass layoff. A qualifying termination or relocation at a covered establishment has a separate state trigger.

Does EDD filing complete the employee notice requirement?

No. You must address every required recipient and ensure timely receipt, including affected employees and the relevant local recipients.

Sources

• California EDD: WARN reports and requirements
• California EDD: WARN requirements and federal comparison
• California EDD: WARN frequently asked questions
• California EDD: SB 617 amendments effective January 2026
• California Legislature: SB 951 chaptered text (Stats. 2026, ch. 860)
• California EDD: 2026 California employer's guide
• U.S. Department of Labor: WARN regulations
• California Labor Commissioner: Final pay requirements