NJ WARN: 90-day notice + mandatory severance, even with notice.
New Jersey's WARN Act (the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act, amended in 2023) is the most aggressive mass-layoff statute in the United States. Three features set it apart: 90 days' notice (vs federal 60); mandatory severance of 1 week per year of service even when proper notice is given; and severance treated as wages under the Wage Payment Law, due in a single lump sum on the termination date. Failure to provide 90-day notice triggers an additional 4 weeks of severance per worker. Severance cannot be waived without commissioner or court approval.
NJ WARN Compliance Workflow
Triggers 90-day notice workflow on mass layoff or plant closing. Calculates mandatory severance (1 week per year of service, paid as lump-sum wages). Surfaces +4 weeks penalty if notice missed.
What those rules do at mass-layoff or plant-closing decision.
The hero card configuration: Block on missing notice, Critical on severance treatment as wages.
When a mass layoff (50+ workers in 30 days), termination of operations, or transfer of operations is entered for a covered employer (100+ employees), the execution is blocked until 90-day notice is queued for: NJDOL Commissioner, chief elected official of the municipality, each terminated worker, and any collective bargaining unit.
NJ WARN severance is wages under the Wage Payment Law, payable in a single lump sum on the termination date — not over time as salary continuation. The lump-sum payment must include the calculated 1-week-per-year amount plus any +4-week penalty if notice was insufficient.
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90-day notice + mandatory severance + lump-sum payment + no waiver.
NJ WARN's 2023 amendments transformed it from a federal-WARN mirror into the most worker-protective mass-layoff statute in the country. Every element is operationally consequential.
Coverage threshold and triggers
Coverage: employers with 100+ employees worldwide. Triggers: (a) mass layoff = 50+ workers terminated at an establishment within a 30-day period (regardless of full-time/part-time status — the 2023 amendment removed the prior FT-only count); (b) termination of operations affecting 50+ workers; or (c) transfer of operations affecting 50+ workers. The 100-employee headcount counts all employees, including part-time and recently-hired.
90-day notice + targets
Written notice required at least 90 days before the first termination — vs federal 60 days. Notice must go to: (1) the NJDOL Commissioner; (2) the chief elected official (mayor) of the municipality where the establishment is located; (3) each employee whose employment is to be terminated; and (4) any collective bargaining unit at the establishment. Posting on the worksite is not sufficient.
Teambridge runs the 90-day notice workflow and severance calculation automatically.
The 2023 amendments made NJ WARN one of the most operationally complex termination compliance regimes in the country.
50+ in 30 days at an establishment.
When 50+ workers are scheduled for termination at an establishment within a 30-day rolling window, the WARN trigger is detected. Termination + transfer of operations also trigger.
All four notice targets prepared.
When triggered, Teambridge queues notices to NJDOL Commissioner, municipal mayor, each affected worker, and any union bargaining unit. The 90-day countdown begins from notice delivery.
1 week per year of service per worker.
For each affected worker, severance is calculated as 1 week of regular pay × full years of employment. The greater of WARN amount or any plan/contract amount applies.
Missing notice = additional severance.
If 90-day notice was not provided, an additional 4 weeks of severance per worker is added. The total is paid as wages in a single lump sum on the termination date.
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