Nebraska Enacts State WARN Act with 90-Day Notice

On April 14, 2026, Governor Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 921 (LB 921) into law, creating the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, the Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act, and several additional employment-related reforms.

This communication focuses on the WARN Act provisions, which require employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time) to provide 90 days’ written advance notice of mass layoffs or business closings, 30 days more than the federal WARN Act’s 60-day requirement.

This update applies to Nebraska employers covered by the new WARN Act, effective July 18, 2026.

What Employers Need to Do

• Assess whether the organization meets the 100-employee threshold (excluding part-time) and develop internal protocols to comply with the 90-day notice requirement for mass layoffs or business closings.

• Review existing workforce reduction tracking processes to ensure employment losses occurring within any 90-day period can be evaluated under the aggregation rule.

• Prepare notice content that meets Nebraska’s uniquely expansive requirements, including copies of all employee handbooks and employment-related policies or a statement identifying where they can be accessed online.

• Ensure notices can be posted at the worksite in every language spoken by at least five percent (5%) of the workforce, and delivery methods are designed to ensure receipt at least 90 days before the planned action.

• Evaluate whether existing federal WARN compliance procedures are sufficient, because Nebraska’s law has distinct thresholds, content requirements, aggregation rules, and enforcement mechanisms that go beyond the federal standard.

Overview

90-Day Notice Requirement

• Employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time) must provide 90 days’ advance written notice before a business closing or mass layoff affecting 100 or more employees at a single site.
• Notice must go to affected employees (or their union representatives) and the Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL). If a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) designates a different notice period, the CBA governs.
• Part-time employees – those averaging fewer than 20 hours per week or employed fewer than six (6) of the preceding 12 months – are excluded from the threshold calculation but are entitled to receive notice when affected.

Expanded Notice Content Requirements

• Must include: (1) worksite name and address, (2) a company contact, (3) whether the action is permanent or temporary, (4) the expected date, (5) schedule of losses, job titles and names of affected employees, and (6) copies of all employee handbooks, personnel policies, and employment-related policies or a statement identifying where they can be accessed online.
• Notice to the NDOL must also include the addresses of affected employees. The NDOL must keep those addresses confidential.
• Notice must be posted conspicuously at the worksite in every language spoken by at least five percent (5%) of the workforce.

Aggregation Rule

• Employers must aggregate employment losses within any 90-day period to determine if notice is triggered, unless they demonstrate the losses resulted from “separate and distinct actions and causes.” This This is intended to capture related employment losses occurring within a 90-day period that otherwise might not independently trigger notice requirements.

Three Narrow Exceptions (Reduced Notice)

1. Faltering company (business closings only): the employer was actively seeking capital or business and reasonably believed notice would have prevented obtaining it.
2. Unforeseeable business circumstances: sudden, dramatic, and unexpected events outside the employer’s control.
3. Natural disasters: must be a direct result of floods, earthquakes, droughts, storms, tornadoes, or similar natural events.

• All three (3) exceptions require a contemporaneous written statement explaining the reduced notice period and are to be narrowly construed.

Pay in Lieu of Notice: The 90-day notice period may be reduced by the number of days for which the employer pays severance or wages in lieu of notice, provided the payment equals at least the regular pay the employee would have earned.

Sale of Business: The seller is responsible for notifying and including the date of sale; the buyer is responsible after closing.

Labor Dispute Carve-Outs: Bona fide strikes, non-evasive lockouts, and temporary strike replacements terminated at the end of a dispute do not trigger notice requirements.

Enforcement

• The NDOL enforces exclusively through an administrative penalty model: civil penalty of up to $100 per day per violation.
• There is no private right of action, and courts cannot enjoin a closing or layoff under the Act.

Why This Matters

Nebraska now has its own state-level WARN Act with a 90-day notice requirement (30 days longer than the federal standard) and expanded notice content requirements that include providing copies of employee handbooks and employment-related policies.

Employers that already comply with federal WARN cannot assume that is sufficient; the Nebraska law has distinct thresholds, content requirements, aggregation rules, and enforcement mechanisms.

Key Risks for Employers

• Nebraska’s 90-day notice period, expanded notice content, and aggregation rules go beyond federal requirements, and employers must comply with both independently.

• The requirement to include copies of all employee handbooks and employment-related policies means employers need documentation systems ready before a triggering event occurs.

• Serial smaller reductions within any 90-day period may trigger notice requirements unless the employer can demonstrate the losses resulted from separate and distinct actions and causes.

• Notices must be posted at the worksite in every language spoken by at least five percent (5%) of the workforce, which may require advance translation planning.

• Part-time employees are excluded from the 100-employee threshold but are still entitled to receive notice when affected by a mass layoff or closing.

Source References

• Nebraska LB 921 – Adopt the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and Others
• Nebraska DOL – WARN Listing Page

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