Delaware WARN Act and Layoff Notice Requirements
Delaware has its own layoff-notice law in addition to federal WARN. Here's who's covered, how much notice is required, the penalties, where to find official notices, and what employees should do.
Delaware has its own layoff-notice law in addition to federal WARN. The state rule may cover smaller employers, smaller layoffs, longer notice, additional recipients, or different penalties. Whether it applies depends on the employer, worksite, number of affected employees, event type, and timing.
For Delaware: Any business enterprise with 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 100 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 2,000 hours per week (19 Del. C. § 1903). Government employers are excluded. Covered events generally require at least 60 days' written notice before a covered mass layoff, plant closing or relocation. employment losses in two or more groups within any 90-day period are added together unless the employer shows separate and distinct causes.
Delaware WARN notices filed in the last 24 months
Collected directly from Delaware Department of Labor (JobLink). Each row is a notice the state published, not an estimate — search it by employer to see whether your own company has filed.
Delaware publishes few WARN notices.This is the state's complete published record for the period — 5 notices in 24 months — not a sample of a longer list. A layoff missing from it may simply have fallen below the federal WARN thresholds, which is common in a state this size.
5
327
5
10 Aug 2026
Showing all 5 filings
| Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug 2026 | JeniusBank | New York | 106 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | Conduent | Florham Park | 1 |
| 30 Apr 2026 | Atlas Hospitality Group, LLC | Baltimore | 67 |
| 7 Jul 2025 | Quality Built LLC | Fort Lauderdale | 2 |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Harrington Logistics, LLC | Harrington | 151 |
Source: Delaware Department of Labor (JobLink) — official Delaware WARN listing. Covers the last 24 months and is current to 10 Aug 2026. States revise and re-publish their listings, so treat this as a reliable index of what has been filed rather than a legal record — verify any specific notice against the official listing. This state does not classify notices as layoff or closure.
At a glance
Federal WARN vs Delaware
The federal WARN Act is the nationwide baseline: it generally requires 60 days' written notice for a covered plant closing or mass layoff at employers with 100+ employees, with remedies of back pay and benefits enforced through the courts. Delaware's state law can be broader — for example, Delaware Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (19 Del. C. §§ 1901–1911). The details below reflect the state rule.
Covered employers, events & thresholds
Covered employer: Any business enterprise with 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 100 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 2,000 hours per week (19 Del. C. § 1903). Government employers are excluded.
plant closing
A permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment causing an employment loss for 50 or more employees during any 30-day period.
mass layoff
A reduction in force causing an employment loss at a single site during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees who are at least 33% of the employer's total workforce at the site (part-time excluded), or for 500 or more employees.
relocation
Removal of all or substantially all of an employer's industrial or commercial operations to a location 50 miles or more away.
Relocation is covered in Delaware; federal WARN has no relocation trigger.
Notice period: At least 60 days' written notice before a covered mass layoff, plant closing or relocation. Employment losses in two or more groups within any 90-day period are added together unless the employer shows separate and distinct causes.
Who must receive notice
Employees
- Affected employees and their representatives
Government
- Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Employment and Training — WARN Act Administrator
- The Delaware Workforce Development Board for the affected locality
Find official Delaware WARN notices
Employers file WARN notices with the Department of Labor's Division of Employment & Training, and Delaware JobLink publishes a WARN lookup you can search by employer and city. Open the Delaware JobLink WARN lookup and search for your employer.
Open the official DE WARN noticesYou can also track recent filings in the LayoffNext WARN Radar — then confirm details against the official DE source above.
Search the DE database directly
Delaware runs a searchable WARN database, so this is the quickest of the routes — you can check a specific employer in a minute.
- 1Open the official database and search your employer's legal name, not its brand name — filings use the entity that employs you, which is often different.
- 2Try a partial name too. Subsidiaries and staffing entities file under names most employees never see on a payslip.
- 3Note the notice date and the effective date separately. The gap between them is what tells you whether the required notice period was honoured.
- 4Screenshot or save the record. Databases are refreshed in place, and an entry can change without a version history.
Penalties & employee remedies
An employer that fails to give the required notice owes each affected employee back pay (at the higher of the three-year average or final rate) and the value of lost benefits, including medical expenses, for up to 60 days or one-half the days the employee was employed, whichever is smaller. It also faces a civil penalty of $1,000 per day of violation or $100 per day per dislocated worker, whichever is greater — avoidable by paying affected employees within 3 weeks. Payments for a WARN violation are not wages, and cannot be used to deny or reduce unemployment benefits.
Back pay
Back pay at the higher of the average regular rate over the last 3 years or the final rate, for the period of violation up to 60 days or one-half the days employed, whichever is smaller (19 Del. C. § 1909).
Benefits
The value of the benefits the employee would have received, including medical expenses an employee benefit plan would have covered (19 Del. C. § 1909).
Civil penalty
$1,000 per day of violation or $100 per day per dislocated worker, whichever is greater, capped at the federal maximum for the same violation and not owed if employees are paid within 3 weeks (19 Del. C. § 1910).
How to raise it
Contact the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Employment and Training, about a suspected violation, or bring a civil action within 3 years of the violation.
Major exceptions & special cases
- Faltering company — actively seeking capital or business that notice would have precluded.
- Business circumstances not reasonably foreseeable when notice would have been required, such as a sudden cancellation of a major contract or a government-ordered closing without prior notice.
- Closing of a temporary facility or completion of a project where employees knew their employment was limited to it.
Remote workers
Coverage follows the single site of employment; remote-worker treatment can be fact-specific — verify with the Delaware Department of Labor.
Temporary layoffs
Whether a temporary layoff or furlough triggers notice can depend on its expected length and the specific rule — verify with the agency for your situation.
What an employee should do in Delaware
- 1Confirm your employer has 100 or more employees and whether the event is a plant closing, a mass layoff at your site, or a relocation of 50 miles or more.
- 2Note the dates: Delaware requires at least 60 days' written notice.
- 3If notice was short, contact the Division of Employment & Training, or consider a civil action within 3 years for back pay and benefits.
- 4File for unemployment — WARN violation payments cannot be used to deny or reduce Delaware unemployment benefits.
Delaware scenarios
A relocation with no layoff count issue
Facts: A Delaware employer with 150 employees moves substantially all of its operations 70 miles away.
Delaware's Act covers a relocation of 50 miles or more, which federal WARN does not treat as a separate trigger. At least 60 days' notice was owed to affected employees, the WARN Act Administrator and the local Workforce Development Board.
Short notice and unemployment
Facts: Your Delaware employer lays off 200 of 400 at your site with two weeks' notice and later pays WARN back pay.
This is a mass layoff (50+ and at least 33% of the site). Back pay for up to 60 days may be owed, and Delaware law says those WARN payments are not wages and cannot be used to deny or reduce your unemployment benefits.
Delaware WARN Act FAQ
Does Delaware have a mini-WARN law?+
How much notice does Delaware require?+
How is Delaware's law different from federal WARN?+
What penalties apply in Delaware?+
Where can I find Delaware WARN notices?+
Nearby states
Delaware unemploymentRelated
Sources & methodology
This page summarizes Delaware's layoff-notice rules from official government sources and links to each. Coverage and outcomes depend on the employer, worksite, headcount, event, and timing, and rules can change. Where a specific figure wasn't confirmable this pass, the text says “verify.” Confirm the current rule with the agency and, where rights are at stake, an attorney.
- 19 Del. C. chapter 19 — Delaware Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — Delaware Code OnlineThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- HB 409 (149th General Assembly) — bill detail — Delaware General AssemblyThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- WARN lookup — Delaware JobLink (Delaware Department of Labor)Where official WARN notices are published. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- Employer Services (WARN / Rapid Response) — Delaware Department of LaborOfficial agency guidance. · Last verified Jul 24, 2026
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (federal) — U.S. Department of LaborOfficial agency guidance. · Last verified Jul 24, 2026
Important disclaimer
This page is educational only and is not legal advice or representation, and LayoffNext is not a law firm. Whether WARN applies, and any remedies, depend on the employer, worksite, headcount, event type, timing, and the current law, which can change. Nothing here is a conclusion that an employer did or did not comply. Verify details with the official sources above and consult a qualified attorney about your situation. See our full disclaimer.
Deepak Middha is the founder of LayoffNext and a Chartered Accountant (ICAI, India). A U.S. immigrant with nearly 20 years of experience — and 17 years in hedge fund and private equity administration, including as Vice President of Fund Accounting at NAV Fund Administration Group and Associate Director of Private Equity and Real Estate at SS&C Technologies — he builds free, plain-language layoff tools and guides for employees, H-1B workers, and immigrant families.