Hawaii WARN Act and Layoff Notice Requirements
Hawaii 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.
Hawaii 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 Hawaii: An employer with a “covered establishment” — an industrial, commercial or other business entity that employed 50 or more persons at any time in the preceding 12 months (HRS § 394B-2). Covered events generally require 60 days' written notice of a closing, partial closing, relocation or divestiture, to each employee and to the director of labor and industrial relations (hrs § 394b-9).
Recent Hawaii notices in our national tracker
4 filings from Hawaii appear in the most recent national WARN data we track, refreshed Oct 14, 2026. This is a recent slice, not a complete HI record — the official state list below is the authoritative source for whether your employer filed.
| Employer | Location | Workers | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dole Food Company Hawaii (Coffee Farm Operations) | Waialua | 9 | 10/05/2026 |
| Hawaiian Airlines (Alaska Airlines) | Honolulu | 13 | 10/02/2026 |
| Laie Water Company, Inc. | Laie | 4 | 09/25/2026 |
| The Beach House Kaua'i | Koloa | — | 09/10/2026 |
At a glance
Federal WARN vs Hawaii
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. Hawaii's state law can be broader — for example, Hawaii Dislocated Workers Act (HRS chapter 394B; HAR § 12-506). The details below reflect the state rule.
Covered employers, events & thresholds
Covered employer: An employer with a “covered establishment” — an industrial, commercial or other business entity that employed 50 or more persons at any time in the preceding 12 months (HRS § 394B-2).
plant closing
A closing or partial closing — the permanent shutdown of all, or a portion, of operations at a covered establishment due to a sale, transfer, merger, other business takeover or transaction, bankruptcy, or other close-of-business transaction.
HRS § 394B-2.
relocation
Removal of all or substantially all operations of a covered establishment to a location outside Hawaii.
HRS § 394B-2.
other
A divestiture — transfer of a covered establishment to another employer through a sale, transfer, merger, bankruptcy or other takeover that makes its employees dislocated workers.
An employer actively seeking a buyer need not give notice until it signs a binding agreement for the sale, transfer or merger (HRS § 394B-9(c)).
Notice period: 60 days' written notice of a closing, partial closing, relocation or divestiture, to each employee and to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations (HRS § 394B-9).
Who must receive notice
Employees
- Each employee of the covered establishment
Government
- Director of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR)
Find official Hawaii WARN notices
Hawaii's DLIR / Workforce Development Council posts WARN notices and dislocated-worker information. Open the DLIR WARN page to review notices.
Open the official HI WARN noticesYou can also track recent filings in the LayoffNext WARN Radar — then confirm details against the official HI source above.
Browse the HI notice list
Hawaii posts notices as a web page rather than a searchable database, so you are scanning rather than querying.
- 1Open the notices page and use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) on your employer's legal name.
- 2Check whether the page is split by year — older filings often move to a separate archive page that the find function will not reach.
- 3Compare the notice date against your own last day. A notice filed after you were told is a different situation from one filed weeks before.
- 4Save a copy of the entry, since these pages are edited in place.
Penalties & employee remedies
An employer that fails to give the 60-day notice owes each affected employee back pay and benefits for the period of violation, up to 60 days, and faces a civil penalty of up to $500 per day unless it pays employees within three weeks after the closing. Separately — whether or not notice was given — after a closing, partial closing or relocation the employer must pay each affected employee who qualifies for unemployment a dislocated worker allowance for up to four weeks.
Back pay
Back pay and benefits for the period of violation, not exceeding 60 days, reduced by wages paid during the notice period and voluntary unconditional payments (HRS § 394B-9(b)).
Benefits
Dislocated worker allowance: for up to four weeks, the difference between the employee's average weekly wage before the closing and the weekly unemployment benefit received — owed after any closing, partial closing or relocation to employees found eligible for unemployment, unless a collective bargaining agreement provides supplemental benefits instead (HRS § 394B-10).
Civil penalty
Up to $500 for each day of violation, deposited in the employment and training fund — avoidable if the employer satisfies its liability to each affected employee within three weeks after the closing (HRS § 394B-9(d)).
How to raise it
Contact DLIR, which enforces the notice requirement, about a suspected violation or an unpaid dislocated worker allowance.
Major exceptions & special cases
- An employer actively seeking a buyer for a sale, transfer or merger is not required to give notice until it has entered into a binding agreement that results in a divestiture (HRS § 394B-9(c)).
Remote workers
Coverage follows the Hawaii covered establishment; remote-worker treatment can be fact-specific — verify with DLIR.
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 Hawaii
- 1Confirm your workplace employed 50 or more people at some point in the past 12 months, and that the event is a closing, partial closing, relocation out of state, or divestiture.
- 2Check the DLIR WARN page for your employer's notice.
- 3File for unemployment promptly — eligibility is what triggers the dislocated worker allowance of up to four weeks.
- 4Contact DLIR if you got fewer than 60 days' notice; back pay and benefits for up to 60 days may be owed.
Hawaii scenarios
A smaller Hawaii business closes after a sale
Facts: A Hawaii business with 60 employees is sold and the buyer shuts it down.
Hawaii's Dislocated Workers Act covers establishments with 50 or more employees — below federal WARN's 100 — and applies to closings tied to a sale, transfer, merger or similar transaction. 60 days' notice to each employee and DLIR is required, with back pay and benefits for up to 60 days if it wasn't given.
The dislocated worker allowance
Facts: Your employer closes with full notice and you qualify for unemployment.
The allowance does not depend on a notice failure. After a closing, partial closing or relocation, the employer must top up each eligible employee's unemployment benefit to their former average weekly wage, for up to four weeks. File for unemployment promptly, because eligibility for it is the trigger.
Hawaii WARN Act FAQ
Does Hawaii have its own WARN law?+
What is Hawaii's dislocated worker allowance?+
How much notice does Hawaii require?+
Which Hawaii employers are covered?+
Where can I find Hawaii WARN notices?+
Nearby states
Hawaii unemploymentRelated
Sources & methodology
This page summarizes Hawaii'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.
- HRS § 394B-2 — Definitions — Hawaii State LegislatureThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- HRS § 394B-9 — Notification; penalty — Hawaii State LegislatureThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- HRS § 394B-10 — Dislocated worker allowance — Hawaii State LegislatureThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- The WARN Act (Hawaii Dislocated Workers Act) — Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations — Workforce Development CouncilOfficial 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.