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State mini-WARN law

Iowa WARN Act and Layoff Notice Requirements

Iowa 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.

Quick answer

Iowa 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 Iowa: Employers with 25 or more employees (excluding part-time employees) — a lower threshold than federal WARN's 100. Covered events generally require 30 calendar days' written notice before a covered business closing or mass layoff — a shorter period than federal warn's 60 days, but triggered at a lower 25-employee threshold.

Iowa WARN notices filed in the last 24 months

Collected directly from Iowa Workforce Development. Each row is a notice the state published, not an estimate — search it by employer to see whether your own company has filed.

Filings, last 24 months

308

Workers affected

11,508

Employers

105

Most recent filing

30 Sep 2026

Showing all 308 filings

Iowa WARN notices from the last 24 months
LocationTypeEffective
30 Sep 2026Carry On Trailer IncManufacturingMissouri ValleyHarrision79Closure29 Nov 2026
29 Sep 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk10—28 Nov 2026
22 Sep 2026RTXProfessional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesCedar RapidsLinn1—30 Oct 2026
15 Sep 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk35—14 Nov 2026
1 Sep 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk5—31 Oct 2026
31 Aug 2026Independence Premium FoodsManufacturingIndependenceBuchanan5—31 Aug 2026
28 Aug 2026People First SanitationAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation ServicesSioux CityWoodbury54Layoff25 Sep 2026
25 Aug 2026RTXProfessional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesCedar RapidsLinn1—30 Sep 2026
21 Aug 2026Verschoor Meats, IncWholesale TradeSioux CityWoodbury42Closure21 Aug 2026
18 Aug 2026RTXProfessional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesCedar RapidsLinn1Layoff30 Sep 2026
18 Aug 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk14—17 Oct 2026
13 Aug 2026Winnebago IndustriesManufacturingForest CityWinnebago27Layoff30 Nov 2026
4 Aug 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk7—3 Oct 2026
3 Aug 2026Lund Foods Holdings, IncManufacturingLake MillsWinnebago23Closure9 Oct 2026
28 Jul 2026NFI Interactive Logistics, LLCTransportation and WarehousingCedar RapidsLinn49Closure30 Sep 2026
28 Jul 2026UnityPoint HealthManagement of Companies and EnterprisesDubuqueDubuque1Layoff28 Feb 2027
28 Jul 2026UnityPoint HealthManagement of Companies and EnterprisesWest Des MoinesPolk229Layoff28 Feb 2027
22 Jul 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk20—19 Sep 2026
17 Jul 2026River Hills Community CenterHealth Care and Social AssistanceCentervilleAppanoose19Closure31 Jul 2026
17 Jul 2026River Hills Community CenterHealth Care and Social AssistanceRichlandKeokuk5Closure31 Jul 2026
10 Jul 2026Independence Premium FoodsManufacturingIndependenceBuchanan42Layoff9 Aug 2026
7 Jul 2026Wells FargoFinance and InsuranceWest Des MoinesPolk20—5 Sep 2026
30 Jun 2026BrandFXManufacturingSwea CityKossuth56Closure31 Aug 2026
30 Jun 2026Great Souther BankFinance and InsurancePleasant HillPolk4Closure1 Oct 2026
30 Jun 2026Great Souther BankFinance and InsuranceAnkenyPolk5Closure1 Oct 2026

Source: Iowa Workforce Development — official Iowa WARN listing. Covers the last 24 months and is current to 30 Sep 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. 11% of these filings do not disclose a worker count, so the total above understates the period.

At a glance

Status
State mini-WARN law
Covered employer
Employers with 25 or more employees (excluding part-time employees) — a lower threshold than federal WARN's 100.
Notice period
30 calendar days' written notice before a covered business closing or mass layoff — a shorter period than federal WARN's 60 days, but triggered at a lower 25-employee threshold.
Who must be notified
Affected employees (or their representatives); Iowa Workforce Development (the department) / State Rapid Response Coordinator
Official WARN notices
Published (see below)
Enforcement
Iowa Workforce Development.
Law last verified
Sep 22, 2026
Filings data
Newest notice Sep 30, 2026

Federal WARN vs Iowa

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. Iowa's state law can be broader — for example, Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Iowa WARN) (Iowa Code Chapter 84C). The details below reflect the state rule.

Covered employers, events & thresholds

Covered employer: Employers with 25 or more employees (excluding part-time employees) — a lower threshold than federal WARN's 100.

mass layoff

A reduction in force, not the result of a business closing, causing an employment loss at a single site of employment during any 30-day period for 25 or more employees (excluding part-time employees).

plant closing

A permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site (or one or more facilities or operating units within it) resulting in an employment loss for 25 or more employees (excluding part-time employees).

Notice period: 30 calendar days' written notice before a covered business closing or mass layoff — a shorter period than federal WARN's 60 days, but triggered at a lower 25-employee threshold.

Who must receive notice

Employees

  • Affected employees (or their representatives)

Government

  • Iowa Workforce Development (the department) / State Rapid Response Coordinator

Find official Iowa WARN notices

Iowa Workforce Development publishes a WARN Log — a downloadable spreadsheet and a data visualization of all WARN notifications issued in Iowa. Open the Iowa WARN notices page and search for your employer.

Open the official IA WARN notices

You can also track recent filings in the LayoffNext WARN Radar — then confirm details against the official IA source above.

Search the IA database directly

Iowa runs a searchable WARN database, so this is the quickest of the routes — you can check a specific employer in a minute.

  1. 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.
  2. 2Try a partial name too. Subsidiaries and staffing entities file under names most employees never see on a payslip.
  3. 3Note the notice date and the effective date separately. The gap between them is what tells you whether the required notice period was honoured.
  4. 4Screenshot or save the record. Databases are refreshed in place, and an entry can change without a version history.
Open the official IA noticesHow federal WARN worksWhat a WARN notice means for you

Penalties & employee remedies

Iowa's Act has no back-pay remedy for employees. An employer that fails to give the required notice to Iowa Workforce Development is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100 for each day of the violation, paid into the state general fund, and the statute makes its penalties the exclusive remedies for a violation (Iowa Code § 84C.5). An employee's route to back pay for a short notice is federal WARN, where the employer is large enough to be covered.

Civil penalty

Not more than $100 for each day of the violation, for failing to notify the department, deposited in the state general fund (Iowa Code § 84C.5(2)).

How to raise it

Contact Iowa Workforce Development's State Rapid Response Coordinator about a suspected violation of Iowa Code Chapter 84C. The Act's civil penalty is its only remedy — for back pay, check whether federal WARN applied.

Major exceptions & special cases

  • Faltering company — business closings only, not mass layoffs, and narrowly construed (Iowa Code § 84C.4(4)).
  • Unforeseeable business circumstances and natural disaster — with a statement of explanation when notice is given (Iowa Code § 84C.4(5)–(6)).
  • Strikes and lockouts not intended to evade the Act.
  • The 30 days can be reduced day-for-day by severance or wages in lieu of notice paid for the work days in the notice period (Iowa Code § 84C.4(7)).

Remote workers

Coverage follows the single site of employment; remote-worker treatment can be fact-specific — verify with Iowa Workforce Development.

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 Iowa

  1. 1Confirm your employer had 25 or more employees (Iowa's lower threshold).
  2. 2Check the Iowa Workforce Development WARN Log for your employer and date.
  3. 3If you got fewer than 30 days' notice, note the exact dates and contact Iowa Workforce Development — and if your employer has 100 or more employees, check federal WARN, which is where a back-pay remedy lies.

Iowa scenarios

Below federal size but above Iowa size

Facts: An Iowa employer with 40 employees closes a site, ending employment for 30 workers with short notice.

Federal WARN generally doesn't apply below 100 employees, but Iowa's WARN Act covers employers with 25 or more employees and requires 30 days' notice when 25 or more lose their jobs. Note what the Iowa Act does and does not do: its remedy is a civil penalty of up to $100 a day, not back pay to employees.

Finding an Iowa WARN filing

Facts: You want to confirm whether your employer filed.

Iowa Workforce Development publishes a WARN Log as a downloadable spreadsheet and a data visualization of all Iowa WARN notifications. Open the Iowa WARN notices page and search for your employer's name and the reported dates.

Iowa WARN Act FAQ

Does Iowa have its own WARN law?+
Yes. The Iowa WARN Act (Iowa Code Chapter 84C) applies to employers with 25 or more employees — far below the federal WARN Act's 100 — and requires 30 calendar days' written notice of a covered business closing or mass layoff affecting 25 or more employees. Because the threshold is lower, events not covered federally can still be covered in Iowa.
How much notice does Iowa require?+
30 calendar days' advance written notice of a covered business closing or mass layoff, given to affected employees or their representatives and to Iowa Workforce Development. The period can be shortened day-for-day where the employer pays severance or wages in lieu of notice for the work days in the notice period, and narrow exceptions apply.
Which Iowa employers are covered?+
The Iowa WARN Act covers employers with 25 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, and applies when a business closing or mass layoff causes an employment loss for 25 or more employees at a single site. Whether your layoff is covered depends on those counts, so confirm the headcount and full-time status when evaluating a claim.
Where are Iowa WARN notices published?+
Iowa Workforce Development publishes a WARN Log — a downloadable spreadsheet plus a data visualization — listing all WARN notifications issued in Iowa. Open the Iowa Workforce Development WARN notices page and search the log for your employer's name and the reported dates to confirm whether a notice was filed.
What penalties apply under Iowa's WARN law?+
A civil penalty of not more than $100 for each day of the violation, for failing to notify Iowa Workforce Development, paid into the state general fund. The statute makes that the exclusive remedy, so the Iowa Act gives employees no back pay. If your employer has 100 or more employees, federal WARN may still provide back pay and benefits for a short notice.

Nearby states

Iowa unemployment

Related

All states: WARN Act by stateWhat a WARN notice means for employeesWARN Radar: recent layoff filingsLayoff letter examplesUnemployment benefits in IowaLaid off today? First steps

Sources & methodology

This page summarizes Iowa'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.

  1. Iowa Code Chapter 84C — Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — Iowa LegislatureThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
  2. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) — Iowa Workforce DevelopmentOfficial agency guidance. · Last verified Jul 24, 2026
  3. Iowa WARN notices (WARN Log) — Iowa Workforce DevelopmentWhere official WARN notices are published. · Last verified Jul 24, 2026
  4. 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, Founder of LayoffNext
Founder of LayoffNext

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.

Published July 24, 2026Updated September 22, 2026
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