Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

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Workforce
Iowa's WARN Notifications

See Visualization: WARN Notices in Iowa

View a log of all WARN notifications issued in Iowa, in a data visualization.

View WARN Data
Visualization of WARN Notifications issued in Iowa

WARN Act

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to give 60 calendar days' written notice when there is a plant closing or mass layoff. This protects workers, their families, and communities. The notice provides employees time to prepare for the potential loss of their jobs, find new employment, and, if necessary, enroll in training.

If your business is considering layoffs, you must notify:

  • Affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union).
  • Iowa's State Rapid Response Coordinator.
  • The chief elected official of local government in which the employment site is located.

WARN Tool

A log of the notifications issued in Iowa can either be downloaded in PDF or Excel format or viewed directly in the dashboard above. 

Note: For assistance in navigating the Tableau visualization (linked above) visit the Tableau Guide.

Notifications for the current year are displayed by default, but the date slider can be used to show notifications going further back in time. Selecting a notification in the table will display more details in the fields at the right. The notifications can also be filtered by industry and Local Workforce Development Area (LWDA).

Iowa WARN

The Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Iowa WARN) Act ensures that employers with 25 or more employees give notice 30 calendar days in advance of a plant closure or mass layoff.

Read a comparison of Iowa WARN and the Federal Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

IWD urges employers to provide advance notice of any upcoming layoffs, even when the WARN does not require it. Notifying workers and engaging with your local IowaWORKS Center can help workers access programs that can help them transition to other jobs.

Services

Any decision to reduce or eliminate a portion of your company’s workforce is difficult.  Iowa Workforce Development provides a number of services for dislocated workers through our IowaWORKS Centers, including Rapid Response Services and Trade Act Benefits. These services are provided at no cost to our customers. They are completed alongside the employer and activated when your company completes its responsibilities under the Iowa WARN or the Federal WARN Act.

For questions and issuances of WARN notifications, please contact the State Rapid Response Coordinator.