WARN Act signed into law (1988)
Congress passed the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act in 1988, requiring employers with 100 or more workers to give 60 days' notice of mass layoffs or plant closures. Congress overrode President Ronald Reagan's veto of the bill.
Workers gained a legal right to early warning, and local governments gained time to respond to large job losses.
WARN notices became the standard early signal of layoffs and a public record used by researchers and job seekers.
This story only exists because WARN requires advance notice. The law is the reason a November layoff is visible in August.
