The New Jersey WARN Act, Plus 2025 Update

If your business operates in the state of New Jersey, the WARN Act plays a much bigger role in workforce decisions than many business owners realize.

With the new rules and changes, it could be easy to get tripped especially around notice timing and severance pay.

Before you reduce headcount, close a location, or reorganize teams, it’s worth making sure you understand how the NJ WARN Act actually works.

What the New Jersey WARN Act is About

The New Jersey WARN Act, officially called the “Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act” (but let's obviously stick with WARN), is meant to protect employees during large job losses. It’s based on the federal WARN Act, but New Jersey took things further.

Much further…

When certain thresholds are met, the law requires you to give advance notice and pay mandatory severance. The idea is to give workers time to prepare for the financial impact, not to surprise them with a sudden loss of income.

Why the Law Still Matters in 2025

Most of the major changes to the NJ WARN Act became effective in April 2023, but many businesses are starting to feel the impact and we are starting to get more questions.

There are new amendments that have widened coverage, extended notice requirements, and made severance automatic instead of something that could be negotiated away.

The result is less flexibility for businesses and higher risk if there’s anything compliant that you miss or misunderstand.

Does New Jersey WARN Act Apply to You? 

You are likely covered if both of these are true:

• You have at least 100 employees nationwide
• You operate a business in New Jersey that has been in place for 3+ years and is not a temporary construction site

That employee count includes part-time workers. The old carve-outs for short-term or part-time staff no longer apply.

If you meet this criteria, WARN should be part of every serious workforce planning conversation.

What Triggers the NJ WARN?

The law is triggered when 50 or more employees are affected within a 30-day period due to:

• A mass layoff that is not tied to a shutdown or transfer
• A full or partial shutdown of operations
• A transfer of operations to another location, whether inside or outside New Jersey

New Jersey also looks at employees who “report to” an establishment, not just where they physically work.

One thing to be aware of is the 90-day aggregation rule. If you have multiple smaller layoffs over a 90-day window, they should be combined unless you can clearly show that each round happened for separate and distinct business reasons.

This is where planning and documentation matter.

What Counts as Termination of Employment?

For WARN, a termination generally means a layoff without a commitment to bring the employee back within six months.

The law does not apply to voluntary resignations, retirements, terminations for misconduct, seasonal layoffs, or situations where you offer a comparable job in New Jersey within 50 miles of the employee’s prior location.

Short-term layoffs can still become WARN-triggering events if they extend beyond six months and notice is not provided once that extension becomes foreseeable.

The 90-day Notice Rule

You must provide written notice at least 90 days before the first termination takes place.

That notice must go to the affected employees, any applicable union, the chief elected official of the municipality where the establishment is located, and the New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.

That can be done through this online form.

If notice is late or incomplete, there can be financial complications and penalties.

Mandatory Severance Pay, No Negotiation Needed

This is where New Jersey differs sharply from federal WARN.

If the NJ WARN Act applies, severance is mandatory. You must pay at least one week of severance for every full year of service.

If you do not provide the full 90 days of notice, employees are also entitled to an additional four weeks of severance.

Severance must be calculated using whichever rate is higher: the employee’s average regular pay over the last three years or their final regular rate. Depending on how compensation is structured, that can include commissions or incentive pay.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong?

WARN violations can lead to lawsuits seeking unpaid severance, lost wages, benefits, attorney fees, and even court costs.

Because New Jersey treats WARN severance as earned compensation, certain violations may also trigger wage payment penalties, depending on the circumstances and how a court evaluates the claim.

Beyond the financial risk, WARN missteps can seriously damage employee trust. That’s because timely, accurate payroll builds trust!

New Jersey's Rapid Response Team

New Jersey’s Department of Labor has a Rapid Response team that steps in when WARN events happen. You are required to give them access to your affected employees so they can share info about unemployment benefits, retraining programs, and job placement resources.

Why Payroll & HR Coordination Matters

WARN compliance does not stop with notice letters. Layoffs impact final pay, accrued time, severance, tax withholding, and certain benefits.

Problems usually happen when payroll, HR, and leadership are not aligned and there are too many moving pieces. Tracking employee counts, monitoring rolling layoff windows, and calculating severance correctly can prevent costly errors.

Megapay Helps You Stay on Track!

At Megapay, we work with businesses navigating complex payroll and compliance requirements, especially during difficult transitions.

Our tools and fractional HR service can help you calculate severance accurately, process payments on time, and keep clean records when workforce changes occur. That way, compliance does not become another thing you need to worry about.

If you are considering layoffs or restructuring in 2025, now is the time to review your NJ WARN obligations and make sure your payroll processes are ready.

Megapay is here to help you handle it the right way, give us a call!