When does a California layoff require Cal-WARN notice?

A layoff is the one termination decision that affects many people at once, and California adds its own notice law on top of the federal one. It reaches smaller workplaces than federal WARN, triggers on smaller layoffs, and since January 1, 2026 requires more in the notice itself.

Who does Cal-WARN cover?

An employer with a covered establishment: an industrial or commercial facility, or part of one, that employs or has employed 75 or more people in the preceding 12 months, counting full-time and part-time staff (Labor Code 1400.5). The federal WARN Act starts at 100 employees, so many Bay Area employers are covered by the state law alone. Affected employees should read the first 48 hours after a layoff.

What triggers the 60-day notice?

• A mass layoff: 50 or more employees laid off at a covered establishment within any 30-day period, regardless of what share of the workforce that is.
• A termination: shutting down, or substantially shutting down, operations at the establishment.
• A relocation: moving all or substantially all operations 100 miles or more away.

Notice goes out at least 60 days before the event, to affected employees, the Employment Development Department, the local workforce development board, and the chief elected officials of the city and county where the establishment sits.

What changed in 2026?

SB 617 kept the timing but expanded the content of every Cal-WARN notice issued on or after January 1, 2026 (Labor Code 1401). The notice must now:

• State whether the employer plans to coordinate services such as rapid response orientation through the local workforce development board, another entity, or not at all. If it does, those services must be arranged within 30 days of the notice.
• Describe CalFresh, the state food assistance program, with its benefits helpline and website.
• Give a working email address and phone number where employees and agencies can get more information.

Another change is coming. Under SB 951, signed September 30, 2026, a notice for a layoff, relocation or closure caused in whole or in substantial part by AI or other automation replacing jobs must include additional information, starting January 1, 2027 (CalChamber). Relocations trigger notice, see moving a company to Austin.

A notice sent on time using a pre-2026 template can still be deficient. Update the template before you need it.

What does a missing or late notice cost?

Each affected employee can recover back pay and the value of lost benefits for each day of the violation, up to 60 days, plus attorney fees. The employer can also face a civil penalty of up to $500 for each day of the violation, unless it pays the back pay and benefits within about three weeks (Labor Code 1403). Complying with federal WARN is not a defense under the California law.

What if you are under 75 employees?

Cal-WARN may not apply, but everything else does. Each laid-off employee is owed final pay on the last day and the standard separation notices. Choose who is affected with written, job-related criteria, because a layoff that falls unevenly on one group invites a discrimination claim. If you offer severance in exchange for releases to a group that includes employees 40 and over, federal law requires 45 days to consider and specific disclosures about who was selected.

What if you are the employee?

Keep your notice, or note the date you learned of the layoff if there was none. If your worksite had 75 or more people and at least 50 were laid off within 30 days without 60 days’ notice, you may be owed up to 60 days of pay and benefits. Your final paycheck is due on your last day either way. For the employer side, the session after a layoff matters too, and facilitating after layoffs covers how to run it.

Planning a reduction is where fractional HR earns its cost: the selection criteria, the notices and the conversations all have to be right the first time. California HR laws by headcount shows the other rules that change as you grow.

If the layoff follows the sale of a business, read HR deadlines when a small California business is sold. Employers bargaining with a union should also read how a small employer prepares for union bargaining.

If AI is the reason you are considering a layoff, read the rehire math and California rules before cutting jobs for AI first.

If automation or AI drives a layoff, the notice carries added content, explained in what a technology displacement layoff notice must say under SB 951. For the steps that follow the notice, see a California offboarding checklist.

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.

Data current as of September 2026. Sources are linked where each figure appears.