Maryland's Mini-WARN Act — 60 Days' Notice at 50 Employees

Most Maryland workers know the federal WARN Act requires 60 days' notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. Fewer know Maryland has its own version — the Economic Stabilization Act, usually called the state's "mini-WARN" law — which covers far more employers than the federal law. If you work in Maryland, this is the law that may actually protect you.

A law that was voluntary until 2020

Maryland's mini-WARN law existed for years, but before October 1, 2020, it only encouraged employers to give notice. The General Assembly's Senate Bill 780 changed that, making the 60-day notice mandatory and adding enforceable penalties.

Even then, the Department of Labor held off enforcing the mandatory provisions until it issued final regulations. Those regulations took effect in October 2025, and the department now takes the position that covered employers must comply. Maryland's mini-WARN law is no longer a suggestion — it is an enforceable requirement that many employers and workers are still catching up with.

Who it covers: 50 employees, not 100

The federal WARN Act applies to employers with 100 or more full-time workers. Maryland's law reaches much smaller employers: any business operating in the state for over a year with at least 50 employees.

That lower threshold matters: a company with 60 employees that closes a Maryland facility owes its workers 60 days' notice under state law even though federal WARN would not apply at all. A "workplace" means a permanent office or facility where goods are produced or services provided; construction sites and temporary workplaces are excluded.

What triggers the 60-day notice

The law is triggered by a "reduction in operations," defined two ways:

• Relocation: moving part of the business to another site in a way that cuts headcount at the original location by at least 25% of the workforce or 15 employees, whichever is greater.
• Shutdown or partial shutdown: closing a workplace or part of its operations so the employee count drops by at least 25% or 15 employees, whichever is greater, over any three-month period.

Federal WARN, by contrast, generally requires a plant closing affecting 50 or more workers, or a mass layoff of 50 workers who make up at least a third of the workforce (or 500 workers regardless of share). A 20-person cut at a 60-person Maryland employer triggers state notice; under federal law, it would not.

Who must be told, and what the notice must say

A covered employer must give written notice at least 60 days before the reduction begins, to four groups: all employees at the affected workplace, including part-time and short-term workers; any union or other employee representative; the Maryland Department of Labor's Dislocated Worker Unit; and the chief elected official of the local jurisdiction.

The notice must state the name and address of the affected workplace, contact information for a company official, whether the reduction is temporary or permanent and whether the workplace will close, and the expected start date of the reduction.

How Maryland's law differs from federal WARN

• Lower thresholds. 50 employees to be covered, and 15 affected workers to trigger notice, versus 100 employees and 50 workers under federal law.
• No unforeseeable-circumstances exception. Unlike federal WARN, Maryland's law has no separate "unforeseeable business circumstances" exception, though a narrow provision allows shortened notice when an employer was actively seeking capital or business to keep operating.
• No private lawsuit. The law gives no private right of action for an individual worker to sue an employer directly over a missed notice; enforcement runs through the Department of Labor — unlike federal WARN, where workers can sue for back pay and benefits.
• Narrow exclusions. The law does not apply to reductions caused solely by a labor dispute, at construction sites or temporary workplaces, from industry-specific seasonal factors as determined by the department, or from bankruptcy.

Maryland's layoff numbers in context

Layoff Atlas's archive holds 1,431 Maryland WARN notices reporting 117,891 workers. In the last 365 days there are 143 official Maryland filings reporting 9,819 workers, the newest dated October 30, 2026; so far in 2026, Maryland has 117 notices reporting 8,184 workers, with 16 carrying future effective dates. Nationally, the registry shows 676 notices reporting 64,762 workers over a 90-day window, led by California (20,969) and Washington (17,320). The heaviest upcoming week is the week of November 19, with 8,412 workers scheduled.

These are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. Coverage and reporting rules vary by state, and worker totals exclude counts that were unavailable.

What to do if you are affected

If you receive a notice, check it lists the workplace address, a contact person, whether the cut is temporary or permanent, and the expected start date — and that it arrived at least 60 days before the reduction begins. If you hear rumors of a closure and no notice arrives, ask your employer in writing whether a notice has been filed with the Department of Labor, and contact the department's Dislocation Services Unit, which also connects workers with rapid-response help.

Both laws can apply at once, and the state law's lower thresholds mean smaller employers are not off the hook. With final regulations now in effect, Maryland's 60-day rule is one workers should treat as real — and one employers can no longer treat as optional.

Data source: Layoff Atlas.