The context behind the numbers
About WARN
WARN is a notice requirement for qualifying plant closures and mass layoffs. A filing gives advance information about an employer’s plans; it is not confirmation that every reported layoff occurred.
What a notice can tell you
Official notices may identify an employer, affected facility, worker count, notice date, expected effective date and whether the event is a closure, permanent layoff or temporary layoff. Some sources publish only part of this information.
The federal WARN Act generally requires covered employers to give 60 days of advance notice for qualifying events. State laws can have different thresholds and notice periods, and exceptions may apply. Check the official agency and US Department of Labor guidance for your situation.
Reading dates and counts
The notice date is the published filing or received date. Latest notices include only records with this date; undated records appear under Recently imported. Import time never indicates a fresh filing. The effective date is the planned first date of the event; layoffs may occur in stages. Worker counts reflect the source’s published number and may later change.
If you may be affected, the employer notice and state workforce agency are the best starting points for unemployment, reemployment and training services. Layoff Atlas is a public-data resource and does not provide legal advice.
Common questions
Are WARN notices confirmed job losses?
No. A WARN notice reports an employer’s planned layoff or closure. Dates and worker counts can change, and a notice does not establish that the reported job losses occurred.
Does Layoff Atlas cover every US layoff?
No. It indexes government sources and separately attributed licensed secondary reports listed on Data Sources. WARN does not cover every employer or small layoff. A location without a connected source is marked unavailable, rather than counted as zero.
What is the difference between notice date and effective date?
Notice date is the published filing or received day. Effective date is the first published day of the planned event. Some states publish only an effective date; the notice date remains unavailable.
How often is the data checked?
Official sources are checked daily between 12:17 and 22:17 UTC. Historical archives receive a full refresh each Sunday. Each source displays its last successful check and any failure.
Where can I verify a filing?
Open a filing page and follow its supplied source link. Secondary reports clearly identify their provider and are not independently verified. The page also shows the raw source record, ingestion time and source snapshot hash.