WARN Act Back Pay Calculator
If a mass layoff gave less notice than the law required, WARN provides back pay and benefits for each day of the shortfall, up to the notice period. Estimate the gap using the federal 60-day rule and your state’s own period, whichever is longer.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
An arithmetic estimate of the gap, not a legal conclusion. Whether an employer was covered at all, whether an exception applied (faltering company, unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disaster), and what any remedy would be are questions for an employment attorney. Some employers also credit severance already paid against a WARN claim.
Verified 2026-07-31 against WARN Act, 20 CFR Part 639 + state mini-WARN statutes (per-row citations) (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only DOL-ETA can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: U.S. Department of Labor — WARN Act ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
An arithmetic estimator for the gap when a mass layoff gave less advance notice than the law required: the days short, and the pay and benefits attached to them.
How it works
The federal WARN Act requires 60 days’ notice from covered employers; sixteen states add their own period, several longer. Because an employer must satisfy both, the tool takes the longer of the two for your state, subtracts the notice actually given, and multiplies the shortfall by daily pay and the daily value of benefits.
Getting the most from it
- Pick the state where you worked so its notice period loads from the verified pack.
- Enter weekly gross pay and how many days of written notice you actually received.
- Add the monthly value of benefits — the COBRA calculator estimates this.
- Read the days-short figure alongside the money, since that is what a claim would turn on.
Reading your result
Treat the result as the size of the gap, not as an entitlement. Employers may credit wages or severance already paid against a WARN claim, and courts have differed on how back pay is counted.
What it can't tell you
It cannot decide whether the employer was covered, whether an exception applied (faltering company, unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disaster), or what remedy would follow. Three states’ notice laws could not be verified and fall back to the federal period. This is not legal advice — an employment attorney can assess a specific layoff.
Frequently asked questions
The statute provides for back pay and benefits for each day of violation, capped at the notice period that was required. An employer may reduce liability by wages already paid during the period, and courts have differed on how back pay is counted — this is a legal question, not an arithmetic one.
Related calculators
WARN Notice
How much advance notice a mass layoff or plant closing requires: the federal WARN Act’s 60-day rule and employer thresholds, plus every state that adds its own notice law — with the notice period, what each law covers, and the statute it comes from.
Severance Pay
Estimate what a severance package is worth before and after tax. Enter weekly pay, years of service, and the employer’s weeks-per-year formula to see the gross amount, the 22% federal supplemental withholding, Social Security and Medicare, and the net that actually lands in your account.
Runway Planner
Put the whole layoff picture on one timeline: severance after withholding, unemployment benefits for your state, COBRA premiums, and monthly expenses. The planner shows how many months the money covers, when each source runs out, and exports the deadlines to your calendar.
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