Desperate measures: invoking WARN's unforeseeable business circumstances

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) requires employers to provide at least 60 days' written notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs. An employer facing such a downsizing, however, often does not have the luxury of waiting for the expiration of the notice period before making staffing cuts. WARN's unforeseeable business circumstances exception offers some relief. The exception allows an employer to give less than 60 days' notice, provided the employer can prove that the plant closing or mass layoff was caused by a dramatic, sudden, and unexpected event. This article discusses the anatomy of WARN's unforeseeable business circumstances exception, practical considerations in invoking the exception, and some possible alternatives to the exception available under WARN.