The Fair Warning Act of 2023 significantly strengthens worker protections by expanding and updating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The bill increases advance notice requirements for plant closures and mass layoffs from 60 to 90 days and lowers the threshold for triggering these requirements—now including temporary layoffs if employers don't provide short-time compensation, and expanding the definition of "mass layoff" to cover remote workers and broader scenarios. The law applies to employers with 50 or more employees or $2 million annual payroll, and establishes new obligations for parent companies and contractors that control employment decisions. Employers must now provide more detailed notice information, give rapid response teams on-site access, and face increased penalties including 30 days of liquidated damages plus back pay for violations. The bill also creates a public database of closure and layoff notices maintained by the Department of Labor, requires employers to inform workers about available benefits and training services, prohibits workers from waiving their rights through arbitration agreements, and provides a four-year statute of limitations for filing enforcement actions.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.