Quick Hits

• Maryland’s Mini-WARN Act requires employers with fifty or more employees to provide sixty days’ notice of mass layoffs or reductions in force impacting the greater of at least 25 percent or fifteen employees.
• The notice provisions of Maryland’s Mini-WARN Act were made mandatory in 2020, but the MDOL previously announced it would not enforce the law until it had issued final regulations.
• Although only proposed regulations have been issued, the MDOL is now taking the position that employers must comply with the act.

Background

Maryland’s Mini-WARN Act, much like the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, requires employers to provide sixty days’ written notice to employees in the event of a mass layoff or significant reduction in operations. 

In 2020, the MDOL announced that it would delay enforcement of the act until the regulations were updated to reflect the new mandatory notice provisions. In December 2023, the MDOL released proposed regulations for public comment. Typically, after a comment period, the agency reviews feedback and may revise the regulations before finalizing them. However, in this instance, the MDOL did not issue final regulations but instead released a revised version of the proposed regulations for additional public comment. Paul Burgin prepared comments on behalf of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, noting areas of confusion and the need for further guidance. The comment period closed on July 14, 2025, and we are now awaiting issuance of the final regulations.

In the meantime, and contrary to its prior public statements, the MDOL began enforcing the law. It recently added “Employment FAQs” to its “Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) and Other Dislocation Notices” webpage. One of the Q&As states as follows:

I am a medium- or large-sized employer anticipating layoffs. What should I do?

If your business or organization employs 50+ individuals and you are anticipating layoffs of at least 25% of your workforce or 15+ employees, (whichever is greater) over a 3-month period, you must follow the state requirements for Maryland’s Economic Stabilization Act (ESA). Submit notification to MD Labor’s Dislocation Services Unit as well as any employee representatives, and the chief local elected official of the impacted area 60 days prior to termination date.

(Emphasis added.)

What the Act Requires

Maryland’s Mini-WARN Act applies to employers with at least fifty employees that have operated an industrial, commercial, or business enterprise in the state for over a year. The law is triggered by a “reduction in operations,” which includes either:

• relocating “part of an employer’s operation from an initial workplace to another existing or proposed site that may reduce the total number of employees at the initial workplace by at least 25% or 15 employees, whichever is greater”; or
• shutting down all or part of a workplace that “reduces the total number of employees by at least 25% or 15 employees, whichever is greater, over any 3-month period.”

For instance, if an employer with one hundred employees lays off fifteen of them, the law does not apply because this is less than 25 percent of the workforce.

Certain employees are excluded from the fifty-employee count, such as those averaging less than twenty hours per week, those employed for less than six of the previous twelve months, or those who accept a transfer to another workplace location within thirty days. A “workplace” refers to a permanent office or facility where goods are produced or services provided, excluding construction sites and temporary workplaces.

The act does not apply to reductions caused solely by labor disputes, those at construction sites or temporary workplaces, reductions due to industry-specific seasonal factors as determined by the MDOL, or those resulting from bankruptcy.

Employers must provide sixty days’ written notice before a reduction in operations to:

• all employees at the affected workplace (including part-time and short-term employees);
• any union or other employee representative group;
• the state Dislocated Worker Unit; and
• the chief elected official in the jurisdiction where the workplace is located (or, if in multiple jurisdictions, where the most taxes were paid in the prior fiscal year).

The notice must include:

• the name and address of the affected workplace;
• contact information for a company official;
• whether the reduction is temporary or permanent, and if the workplace will close; and
• the expected start date of the reduction.

Employers are excused from the sixty-day notice if:

• they were actively seeking capital or business to avoid the reduction, and believed that giving notice would have prevented obtaining it; or
• the reduction was caused by a natural disaster.

In these cases, notice must be given as soon as possible, with an explanation for the delay. Notably, Maryland does not recognize the federal exception for unforeseeable business circumstances.

When a business is sold, both the seller (on or before the sale) and the purchaser (after the sale) must provide notice. Employees of the seller are considered employees of the purchaser, so no employment loss occurs for those individuals.

If the act is violated, Maryland’s secretary of labor may order compliance and impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day. Factors considered in setting the penalty include the seriousness of the violation, the business’s size, the employer’s good faith, and any history of violations. Penalties are subject to notice and hearing requirements.

What Happens Now?

Employers preparing for a mass layoff or a reduction in force that triggers the notice requirements of the Maryland Mini-WARN Act must be prepared to comply with those requirements immediately. Additional guidance on those requirements will be provided when the final regulations are issued, but in the meantime, employers may wish to analyze their position and proceed carefully to ensure compliance with the act.