New WARN Notice Rules: Reemployment Services and CalFresh Information

Authority

Cal. Legislature

Citation

Stats. 2025, ch. 229

Effective Date

January 1, 2026

Senate Bill 617, authored by Senator Arreguín, amends Labor Code section 1401 to expand what employers must include in the written notice they give before a mass layoff, relocation, or termination under the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act. The new law adds required content about reemployment service coordination and the CalFresh food assistance program. It takes effect on January 1, 2026.

Background

The California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act governs mass layoffs, relocations, and terminations at covered establishments. Under Labor Code section 1401, an employer generally may not order one of these actions unless it gives written notice at least 60 days before the order takes effect.

That notice goes to the affected employees, the Employment Development Department, the local workforce development board, and the chief elected official of each city and county where the action occurs. Section 1401 already requires the notice to contain the elements set out in the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. SB 617 layers additional content onto that existing notice.

What the Law Changes

SB 617 amends section 1401 to require employers to state in the notice whether they plan to coordinate services, such as a rapid response orientation, through the local workforce development board, through a different entity, or not at all. Regardless of that choice, the notice must include a functioning email and telephone number for the board, along with a set description of the board’s rapid response activities and the availability of America’s Job Center of California locations.

If the employer does choose to coordinate services with the board or another entity, it must arrange those services within 30 days of the notice. The notice must also include a description of the statewide CalFresh food assistance program, the CalFresh benefits helpline, and a link to the CalFresh website, plus a functioning email and telephone number for the employer.

Scope and Exceptions

The new content requirements attach to notices employers already must give under section 1401; SB 617 does not change the 60-day timing or the list of recipients. The bill also leaves in place the existing exception under which an employer need not provide notice when a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war.