Nebraska Enacts State Mini-WARN Act

Nebraska will soon join the growing list of states — now numbering 16¹— with a state mini-WARN statute. On April 14, 2026, Governor Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 921, which among other provisions adopts the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Nebraska WARN requires employers to provide 90 days’ advance written notice to affected employees, their union representatives, and the Nebraska Department of Labor before implementing a “business closing” or “mass layoff.” The law takes effect July 17, 2026, and differs substantially from Fed WARN.  Among the issues for employers to consider is that it is unclear if layoffs sufficient to trigger Nebraska WARN implemented shortly after the statute’s effective date would require 90 days’ notice prior to the layoffs, even if that notice would have to be issued prior to the statute’s effective date. 

Nebraska WARN’s Triggers Differ from Fed WARN

Notice obligations under Nebraska WARN are triggered by “business closings” and “mass layoffs.” The law defines a “business closing” as the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment that will result in an employment loss for 100 or more full-time employees. A “mass layoff” means a reduction in force, not resulting from a business closing, that results in an employment loss for 100 or more full-time employees at a single site of employment during any 30-day period. 

These thresholds differ from Fed WARN in a significant respect. Under Fed WARN, a “mass layoff” requires both that 50 or more full-time employees experience an employment loss and that those employees represent at least 33% of the total full-time workforce at the site (unless 500 or more employees are affected, in which case the percentage threshold does not apply). Nebraska WARN imposes no percentage threshold. An employer only needs to determine whether 100 or more full-time employees will suffer an employment loss — regardless of the total size of the workforce at the site. This count-based-only trigger may surprise employers, particularly at larger worksites where a layoff of 100 employees might not approach 33% of the workforce.

Nebraska WARN also defines “employer” as any person employing 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees. Like Fed WARN, Nebraska WARN excludes part-time employees — defined as those working fewer than 20 hours per week on average or those employed for fewer than six of the preceding 12 months — from the count of employees toward the threshold. Although Nebraska WARN does not address this explicitly, part-time employees should be considered affected employees entitled to notice once the Act’s numerical thresholds are met, consistent with how Fed WARN operates.

Nebraska WARN Requires a Longer Notice Period Than Fed WARN

Fed WARN requires 60 days’ advance notice while Nebraska WARN requires 90 days. This is among the most consequential differences for employers, as the longer notice period requires earlier identification of triggering events and greater advance planning for a reduction in force.

Pay/Severance in Lieu of Notice Is Expressly Permitted

Nebraska WARN also addresses how severance pay may interact with the notice period. The 90-day notice requirement may be reduced by the number of days for which an employer pays severance or wages in lieu of notice, provided the payment is at least equivalent to the regular pay the employee would have earned during the notice period. The statute does not clarify whether Nebraska employers may obtain a release exchange for the severance it uses to satisfy the notice obligation, but it contains no express prohibition on seeking a release. Fed WARN does not include an analogous provision expressly permitting offsets for severance pay or pay in lieu of notice (although companies sometimes opt for this approach).²

Nebraska WARN’s Notice Content Requirements

Nebraska WARN requires that notice to affected employees or their representatives and to the Nebraska Department of Labor contain the following information:

• The name and address of the employment site where the business closing or mass layoff will occur, and the name and telephone number of a company official to contact for further information;
• A statement as to whether the planned action is expected to be permanent or temporary and, if the entire business is to be closed, a statement to that effect;
• The expected date of the first employment loss and the anticipated schedule for employment losses;
• The job titles of positions to be affected and the names of the employees currently holding those jobs. Notices to the Department of Labor must also include the addresses of the affected employees (which the Department must keep confidential); and
• Copies of all applicable employee handbooks, personnel policies, and employment-related policies, or a written statement identifying the specific online locations where such materials may be accessed without restriction up until the date of the first employment loss. 

Nebraska WARN goes beyond Fed WARN by requiring that notices to employees and their representatives include a list of affected job titles and the names of employees holding those jobs — and that notices to the Nebraska Department of Labor include the addresses of all affected employees. Fed WARN requires only job titles in notices to the required government entities, not employee names or addresses. Similarly, the obligation to furnish copies of employee handbooks and personnel policies (or links to them) is a Nebraska WARN-specific requirement with no federal analog. Employers should build processes for assembling these materials well before any planned action.

Nebraska WARN also requires that notice be posted conspicuously at the worksite in every language spoken by at least 5% of the employer’s workforce. This multilingual posting requirement also has no counterpart in Fed WARN and will require employers to evaluate the linguistic composition of their workforce when preparing notice.

Collective Bargaining Agreement Incorporation

Unlike Fed WARN, Nebraska WARN’s definitions in some respects may be superseded by collective bargaining agreements. For example, if a collective bargaining agreement defines part-time employment differently than Nebraska WARN, the CBA definition applies. Also, if a CBA designates a different notice period than Nebraska WARN, the notice period in the collective bargaining agreement governs (even if shorter).

The Sale of Business Provision Is Imperfect

Nebraska WARN addresses business sales by providing that the seller is responsible for giving notice of any business closing or mass layoff occurring up to and on the effective date of the sale, and the buyer is responsible for any such action occurring after the sale. While this mirrors the general framework of Fed WARN’s sale-of-business provision, Nebraska WARN’s language is notably spare. Fed WARN and its implementing regulations address in more detail the treatment of employees after a sale, including that employees of the buyer are not considered to have experienced an employment loss for WARN purposes solely because of the change in ownership. Nebraska WARN is silent on these nuances. The absence of Fed WARN-like exception language may mean sellers need to give Nebraska WARN notice even if all or substantially all of the seller’s employees will be hired by the buyer.

Postponement Notice Requirements

Nebraska WARN includes specific rules for situations where a planned business closing or mass layoff is postponed beyond the originally announced date. If the postponement is for fewer than 30 days, the employer must provide additional notice as soon as possible, referencing the earlier notice, the new date, and the reasons for the postponement. If the postponement exceeds 30 days, the additional notice is treated as an entirely new notice subject to all of Nebraska WARN’s requirements — including the full 90-day period. This is different from Fed WARN’s regulations, which only requires a new WARN notice if the postponement is for 60 days or more. Employers may want to avoid unnecessary extensions that could restart the notice clock.

Exceptions to the Notice Requirement

Nebraska WARN incorporates three exceptions to the 90-day notice requirement that largely track exceptions available under Fed WARN:

• Seeking capital: Available only for business closings (not mass layoffs), this exception applies when an employer was actively seeking capital or business at the time notice would otherwise have been required and reasonably believed that providing notice would have jeopardized its ability to obtain that financing or business. The exception is to be narrowly construed. 
• Unforeseeable business circumstances: Available for both business closings and mass layoffs, this exception applies when circumstances not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would have been required caused the triggering event. The circumstance must be caused by some sudden, dramatic, and unexpected action or condition outside the employer’s control. 
• Natural disaster: Available for both business closings and mass layoffs when a natural disaster directly causes the closing or layoff. 

In each case, the employer must provide a statement of explanation at the time notice is actually given. Nebraska WARN also addresses strikes and lockouts, providing that no notice is required when a business closing or mass layoff constitutes a strike or a lockout not intended to evade the Act’s requirements. 

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Nebraska WARN departs significantly from Fed WARN in its enforcement and penalty structure. Under Fed WARN, aggrieved employees may sue in federal court for back pay and benefits for each day of violation, up to 60 days. There is also a separate civil penalty of up to $500 per day recoverable by local government. Nebraska WARN takes a different approach: enforcement authority rests exclusively with the Nebraska Department of Labor, which may impose a civil penalty of up to $100 per day of violation. This civil penalty is the exclusive remedy — employees have no private right of action for back pay or benefits, and courts have no authority to enjoin a business closing or mass layoff. Employers that fail to give proper notice under both Fed WARN and Nebraska WARN could be subject to Fed WARN damages as well as the Nebraska civil penalty provision for the same downsizing event.   

Next Steps

Nebraska WARN involves complicated questions about when notice is triggered, who must be counted, what the notices must contain, and whether an exception applies. Employers with Nebraska operations should consider the following:

• Plan reductions in force well in advance. The 90-day notice period is 50% longer than Fed WARN’s 60-day requirement, meaning the timeline for identifying a potential WARN obligation and preparing compliant notices must begin earlier. This may include an analysis of whether to provide notice before the effective date of Nebraska WARN if layoffs are scheduled shortly after the effective date of the act.
• Review and update reduction-in-force policies and protocols to account for Nebraska WARN’s specific content requirements, including the obligation to provide employee names, addresses (to the Department), and copies of handbooks and personnel policies.
• Assess workforce language demographics to determine whether multilingual posting of WARN notices will be required at Nebraska worksites.
• Train HR, management, and legal personnel to recognize situations that may trigger Nebraska WARN obligations and to understand how the 30-day and 90-day aggregation and postponement rules operate.
• Evaluate severance pay programs to assess whether and how pay in lieu of notice may reduce the required notice period under Nebraska WARN.
• Consult experienced counsel before implementing any layoffs or closures in Nebraska, particularly given the interplay between Nebraska WARN and Fed WARN obligations, the effects of any applicable collective bargaining agreement, and the complicated questions surrounding aggregation of employment losses and the sale-of-business notice obligations.