Washington is the latest state to enact a Mini-Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) law. Effective July 27, 2025, the Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act (SB 5525) imposes notice protections for certain mass layoffs and business site closings within the state.
The new law largely mirrors the salient aspects of the federal WARN Act, including:
- The main “affected employee” threshold for triggering notice (50 or more employees in a mass layoff or shutdown), and the exclusion of part-time employees from that count (i.e., those employed for fewer than 20 hours per week or fewer than 6 of the 12 months preceding a WARN notice event)
- The notice period for covered mass layoffs and business site closures (60 days’ advance written notice)
- The exceptions to notice for unforeseeable business circumstances, faltering companies, and natural disasters
- The contents, and recipients of, the requisite written notifications
- The penalties imposed on an employer that fails to comply
However, the new law diverges from federal WARN in several material respects:
- Covered Employers: The new law applies to employers with 50 or more full-time employees in Washington, whereas federal WARN applies to employers with 100 or more full-time U.S. employees.
- Mass Layoff: Like federal WARN, the new law compels employers to aggregate employment losses during any 30-day period, but unlike federal WARN, there is no 90-day aggregation period for employment losses that have a common cause or trigger. Also, a mass layoff under the Washington law is not limited to a single site of employment (i.e., the 50-person threshold may be triggered with multiple sites aggregated together), nor to layoffs that affect a minimum percentage of the workforce.
- Business Site Closure: This is a permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment that results in employment losses for 50 or more full-time employees. Unlike federal WARN, a business site closure is not limited to employment losses that occur within a 30-day or even 90-day window such that employers will not be able to avoid WARN by staggering a shutdown over an extended period.
- Employees on Leave: Employees on paid family or medical leave pursuant to Washington’s leave statute are insulated from mass layoffs (but not business site closures), except for mass layoffs triggered by a faltering company, unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disaster, or certain construction-related scenarios.
- Exceptions: The faltering company exception under Washington law applies to both mass layoffs and business site closings, whereas the equivalent federal WARN exception applies only to business site closings.
- Penalties: There is no meaningful difference between the new law and federal WARN when it comes to financial penalties for violations. However, like other state Mini-WARN laws (including California), the new law allows aggrieved employees to bring a private right of action against the employer for violations.
- Benefits: An employer’s liability for failure to give some or all of the requisite notice extends not only to the regular compensation affected employees would have received in the event of full notice, but also to the value of any and all benefits for which they would have been eligible. And unlike federal WARN, the plain language of the new law does not limit benefits in any way. As a result, this liability would extend beyond health insurance coverage to, for example, the vesting of stock options and other equity.
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