New Cal-WARN Notice Requirements Take Effect January 1, 2026

Quick Hits

• California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 617 on October 1, 2025, requiring employers to include additional information in their Cal-WARN notices for mass layoffs, terminations, and relocations.
• Starting January 1, 2026, Cal-WARN notices must disclose whether employers plan to coordinate services, such as a rapid response orientation, through the local workforce development board or another entity, and include specific contact information and descriptions of available services.
• Employers may want to update their Cal-WARN notice templates to ensure compliance with the new requirements to avoid potential legal issues.

Cal-WARN prohibits employers, with certain exceptions, from instituting mass layoffs, terminations, or relocations at covered establishments without giving prescribed written notice to affected employees, the state Employment Development Department, and other local agencies. Notices must include the elements required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act as well as Cal-WARN-specific components.

Beginning January 1, 2026, Cal-WARN written notices also must include information on whether the employer plans to coordinate services, such as a rapid response orientation, through the local workforce development board or some other entity. If the employer does not plan to coordinate services with any entity, the employer must state so in the written notice.

Regardless of whether the employer chooses to coordinate services with the local workforce development board or another entity, employers must include the following information in the written notice:

• A “functioning email and telephone number” of the local workforce development board.
• The following description of the rapid response activities offered by the local workforce development board:

“Local Workforce Development Boards and their partners help laid off workers find new jobs. Visit an America’s Job Center of California location near you. You can get help with your resume, practice interviewing, search for jobs, and more. You can also learn about training programs to help start a new career.”

• A description of CalFresh, the statewide food assistance program, the “CalFresh benefits helpline, and a link to the CalFresh internet website.”

If an employer chooses to coordinate services with the local workforce development board or another entity, the employer must arrange such services within thirty days from the date of the written notice.

Employers facing potential mass layoffs, terminations, or relocations at covered establishments may want to review and update any prior written Cal-WARN notice templates to make sure they do not run afoul of the new legal requirements.

Ogletree Deakins’ California offices and RIF/WARN Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the California and Reductions in Force blogs as additional information becomes available.

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