Charles Whitman, Jack Edmond Author San Diego Business Journal Article About Employer Requirements Under Cal-WARN
Charles Whitman and Jack Edmond, San Diego-based attorneys in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, wrote an article for the San Diego Business Journal about the impact on employers of California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal-WARN) and changes to the law in 2026.
Employers covered under Cal-WARN now face new requirements when pursuing applicable reductions-in-force. In their article, Whitman, a partner, and Edmond, an associate, provide an overview of Cal-WARN and cover what employers need to do to comply with 2026 changes to the law and potential consequences for failure to comply with the law.
An excerpt:
To remain compliant with Cal-WARN in 2026, employers have several imminent action items. First, any existing Cal-WARN templates will likely soon be outdated on account of not including CalFresh and LWDB statements, as well as for lacking necessary contact information. Second, employers should work closely with legal counsel to update their written notice templates to reflect these new inclusions before the new year.
Third, regardless of whether employers plan on coordinating services through a LWDB or similar organization, employers would be wise to collect contact information for any such organizations to include in their written notices. Fourth, employers should similarly begin drafting their CalFresh statements.
Employers planning to coordinate employee services in the event of a mass layoff, closure, or relocation should consider making preliminary efforts to do so well in advance. SB 617’s thirty-day timeline for making services available from the date of notice means that employers who wait to begin coordination may be subject to availability and accessibility constraints. It is therefore imperative that employers familiarize themselves with these new requirements and make strides toward compliance before the new year.