08/16/26
(NEXSTAR) – The U.S. job market may be stalling, new economic figures show. Employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, according to the latest jobs report, and revisions show another 103,000 jobs were slashed in May and June.
Are things about to get even worse?
There’s no way to predict the future, but companies aren’t legally allowed to keep mass layoffs a secret, either.
A federal law called the WARN Act, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires medium-sized and large companies give notice before they slash staff. Those notices, in most cases, are publicly available – if you know where to look.
What does the WARN Act do?
The law requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees to give 60 days of advanced notice for plant closings or mass layoffs. A “mass layoff” is defined as: (1) loss of 500 or more jobs at an employment site or (2) loss of 50 to 499 jobs, if that number makes up more than 33% of the company’s workforce.
Some states have even stricter rules, requiring WARN notices from smaller companies or employers planning layoffs that affect fewer people.
For-profit and non-profit companies are covered by the federal law, but government jobs are not. (There are other exceptions and situational factors, many of which are covered in a Department of Labor FAQ.)
How can I check if my company is planning layoffs?
Most (though not all) states make these WARN notices available to look through online. That means if your company is big enough and planning mass layoffs in the next couple months, you could get an early heads up by checking the database.
A Department of Labor spokesperson told Nexstar there is no federal database available, so you’ll have to look for your state’s list. Most states provide public access but a handful do not, including Arkansas, New Hampshire and Wyoming.
California, New York, Florida and Texas and many more states, on the other hand, all have databases that are easy to download or search through online. Searching your state’s name plus “WARN notices” will point you in the right direction to find your state’s database, if it’s available online.
If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in your state, you can contact your state’s rapid response coordinator, the Department of Labor said.
The WARN Act also requires the company planning layoffs to inform employees who may be affected. So if your job is at risk in one of the mass layoffs or closures described by the law, you should also be informed ahead of time before finding the information online.