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119-hr-5761119th CongressWALLET

Fair Warning Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Representative Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]

Introduced

Summary

Expanded WARN coverage and public transparency would require broader, site-based employer notice rules, create a public Department of Labor WARN database, and strengthen enforcement around layoffs and site closings. It would expand who counts as an affected employee, require coordination with rapid-response and labor-management committees, and clarify which employer, contractor, or parent entity can bear notice obligations.

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  • Workers would get earlier and clearer notices and a government benefits guide. The bill covers full- and part-time employees and treats a mass layoff as 10 or more workers at a site or 250 overall.
  • Employers would face clearer thresholds and shared liability rules. The rule would apply to businesses with 50 or more employees or at least $2 million in annual payroll and specifies when affiliated entities must provide notices or share responsibility.
  • States, local governments, and employees would gain new data and enforcement tools. Notices must go into a searchable DOL WARN database and enforcement allows private and public suits with a four-year statute of limitations and liquidated damages capped at 90 days.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Stronger penalties for layoff notice violations

If an employer broke the notice rules, you could seek back pay for each calendar day of violation, up to 90 days. The cap would add extra days if you were on parental, family, or medical leave during the violation, or your leave was cut short. You could also seek liquidated damages equal to 30 days of pay, unless the employer proves an unforeseeable business reason not known 30 days before the event and not due to a financier’s decision. Workers, unions, states, and local governments could sue in federal court, and you would generally have four years to file. Predispute arbitration or joint‑action waivers would not block your claim, and rights could be waived only in limited, attorney‑negotiated or union settlements.

More workers get layoff notice rights

If enacted, more employers would be covered. Businesses with 50 or more workers, or at least $2,000,000 in payroll, would need to follow these rules. A mass layoff would be 10 or more at one site in 90 days, or 250 or more across the company; a site closing would be 5 or more at a site in 30 days. Cuts of more than 50% of hours each month for 90 days would also count, unless it is a short-time compensation program. Certain remote workers tied to a site would count in these totals. You would not count as losing your job if you got a transfer offer within commuting distance with no more than a 90‑day break, or you accepted a distant transfer within 30 days. Some project jobs would be excluded if the end date was in writing and clear at least 60 days ahead.

Short-time pay for temporary layoffs

For temporary layoffs or closings, employers would need to give written notice with a recall date under 90 days and start short‑time compensation. They would have to keep short‑time pay going until recall. By the recall date, they would need to bring you back for at least 90 days, extend the temporary period under the rules, or give at least 90 days’ notice before firing. If they end up firing with less than 90 days’ notice, they could owe back pay and benefits for up to 90 days. Short‑time payments would not reduce what they owe if they break these rules.

Longer layoff notice and public alerts

This bill would make employers wait 90 days after giving written notice before a site closing or mass layoff. They would have to notify each affected worker or union, the Labor Department, the Governor, and the local chief official, and post a notice at work. The Labor Department would keep a public online database of notices and send employers a guide to unemployment, COBRA, and job services. States would have 20 days to set up a labor‑management committee and name a rapid‑response coordinator. The Labor Department could fine up to $500 for each willful posting violation.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]

OH • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 10/14/2025

  • Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 10/14/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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