Maine WARN Act and Layoff Notice Requirements
Maine 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.
Maine 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 Maine: A “covered establishment” — any facility that employs or has employed 100 or more persons at any time in the preceding 12 months (26 M.R.S. § 625-B(1)(A)). Covered events generally require 90 days' written notice before a closing or relocation — to the director of the bureau of labor standards, and (for a closing) to employees and the municipal officers. for a mass layoff, the director must be notified as far in advance as practicable and no later than within 7 days of the layoff.
Maine WARN notices filed in the last 24 months
Collected directly from Maine 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.
Maine publishes few WARN notices.This is the state's complete published record for the period — 14 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.
14
1,011
14
9 Sep 2026
Showing all 14 filings
| Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 2026 | Count & Crush LLC | Biddeford | 54 |
| 4 Aug 2026 | Host International, Inc. | Portland | 102 |
| 2 Jun 2026 | SP+ Parking | Portland | 100 |
| 27 Jan 2026 | Gathr Outdoors dba Pride Manufacturing Co LLC | Guilford | 6 |
| 13 Jan 2026 | Pride Manufacturing -gathr Outdoors | Burnham | 115 |
| 13 Jan 2026 | SMBC-Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation | New York | 1 |
| 10 Dec 2025 | Charter Communications | Portland | 176 |
| 3 Jun 2025 | Loring Job Corps Center | Limestone | 114 |
| 16 May 2025 | Trans Axle | Westbrook | 18 |
| 10 Apr 2025 | Bon Appetit | Waterville | 187 |
| 7 Apr 2025 | US Cellular | Washington | 20 |
| 25 Mar 2025 | Northern Light - Inland Hospital | Waterville | 50 |
| 13 Mar 2025 | Sonoco | Scarborough | 67 |
| 27 Dec 2024 | Vimo dba GetInsured | Augusta | 1 |
Source: Maine Department of Labor (JobLink) — official Maine WARN listing. Covers the last 24 months and is current to 9 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. This state does not classify notices as layoff or closure.
At a glance
Federal WARN vs Maine
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. Maine's state law can be broader — for example, Maine Severance Pay / Plant Closing law (26 M.R.S. § 625-B). The details below reflect the state rule.
Covered employers, events & thresholds
Covered employer: A “covered establishment” — any facility that employs or has employed 100 or more persons at any time in the preceding 12 months (26 M.R.S. § 625-B(1)(A)).
plant closing
A closing — the permanent shutdown of operations at a covered establishment, including by relocation or termination of the business.
Triggers 90 days' notice and mandatory severance.
relocation
Removal of all or substantially all operations of a covered establishment to a new location 100 or more miles away, inside or outside Maine.
Triggers 90 days' notice to the director.
mass layoff
A reduction in workforce, not the result of a closing, causing an employment loss of at least 6 months for at least 33% of the employees and at least 50 employees, or for 500 employees (26 M.R.S. § 625-B(1)(C-2)).
Triggers mandatory severance; notice to the director is due as far in advance as practicable and no later than 7 days after the layoff.
Notice period: 90 days' written notice before a closing or relocation — to the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards, and (for a closing) to employees and the municipal officers. For a mass layoff, the director must be notified as far in advance as practicable and no later than within 7 days of the layoff.
Who must receive notice
Employees
- Employees of the covered establishment (closing: 90 days' written notice, unless waived by the director)
Government
- Director of the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards
- The municipal officers of the municipality where the establishment is located (closing)
Find official Maine WARN notices
Maine JobLink, run by the Maine Department of Labor, publishes a searchable WARN lookup. Search it for your employer; the Employee Rights Guide explains the severance-pay law.
Open the official ME WARN noticesYou can also track recent filings in the LayoffNext WARN Radar — then confirm details against the official ME source above.
Search the ME database directly
Maine 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
Maine is unusual in mandating severance: an employer that closes or conducts a mass layoff at a covered establishment owes each eligible employee — one with at least 3 years of continuous service who was not terminated for cause — one week's pay for each year of service, plus partial pay for a partial year, payable within one regular pay period after the last full day of work. Failing to give the required notice is a civil violation with a fine of $500 per day, and failing to pay severance a fine of up to $1,000 per affected employee.
Back pay
Mandatory severance of one week's pay per year of service (plus partial pay for a partial year) for eligible employees with at least 3 years of continuous service, paid within one regular pay period after the last full day of work.
Civil penalty
$500 per day for failing to give the required notice; up to $1,000 per affected employee for failing to pay the severance (26 M.R.S. § 625-B(9)).
How to raise it
Contact the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards about unpaid severance or missing notice, or sue for the unpaid severance directly under 26 M.R.S. § 625-B(4).
Major exceptions & special cases
- No severance is owed where the closing or mass layoff is necessitated by a physical calamity (fire, flood or other natural disaster) or the final order of a federal, state or local government agency.
- No severance is owed to an employee paid a greater amount under an express severance contract, or to an employee with less than 3 years of continuous service.
- No notice fine is imposed where the failure to give notice is due to unforeseen circumstances.
Remote workers
Coverage follows the Maine covered establishment; remote-worker treatment can be fact-specific — verify with the Maine 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 Maine
- 1Confirm whether your workplace is a “covered establishment” (100+ employees at any time in the past 12 months).
- 2Check your eligibility: at least 3 years of continuous service there, and not terminated for cause.
- 3If it closed or had a qualifying mass layoff, calculate your severance at one week per year of service — due within one regular pay period after your last full day.
- 4Contact the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards if the required severance or notice wasn't provided.
Maine scenarios
Severance on a Maine plant closing
Facts: A Maine facility with 120 employees closes; you worked there 8 years.
Maine's law makes severance mandatory at covered establishments (100+ employees): one week's pay per year of service for employees with at least 3 years of continuous service. Eight years means about eight weeks of severance owed by law, separate from any additional package, and the closing required 90 days' written notice.
A short-tenure employee in a closing
Facts: Your Maine facility closes; you have worked there for 2 years.
The severance requirement applies only to employees continuously employed at the covered establishment for at least 3 years, so a 2-year employee is not owed statutory severance — though the 90-day notice requirement still applies to the closing, and any severance the employer offers voluntarily is separate.
Maine WARN Act FAQ
Does Maine require severance pay after a layoff?+
How much severance does Maine law require?+
Which Maine employers are covered?+
How much notice does Maine require for a plant closing?+
Who enforces Maine's severance-pay law?+
Nearby states
Maine unemploymentRelated
Sources & methodology
This page summarizes Maine'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.
- 26 M.R.S. § 625-B — Severance pay due to closing, shutdown or relocation — Maine State LegislatureThe state statute / legal basis. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- WARN lookup — Maine JobLink (Maine Department of Labor)Where official WARN notices are published. · Last verified Sep 22, 2026
- Maine Employee Rights Guide — Labor Laws — Maine 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.