California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, codified at Labor Code sections 1400 through 1408, requires covered employers to provide 60 days’ advance written notice before a mass layoff, plant closure, or relocation. The statute covers any California employer with 75 or more full- or part-time employees. A mass layoff is defined as the elimination of 50 or more positions at a single location within any 30-day period.

SB 617 amended Labor Code section 1401 to add four mandatory disclosure categories to every Cal-WARN notice, effective January 1, 2026:

Service coordination: the notice must state whether the employer will coordinate rapid-response transition services through the local workforce development board, through another entity, or not at all, and regardless of the choice, must list the board’s contact information along with standardized language describing available job-placement and retraining services.

Employer contact information: a functioning email address and phone number so affected employees or state agencies can reach a company representative.

CalFresh information: a brief description of the CalFresh food-assistance program, the CalFresh helpline number, and a link to the program’s official website.

Timeline for coordination: if rapid-response coordination is planned, those services must be arranged within 30 days after the employer issues the 60-day notice.

It is worth being precise about the scope of the amendment: SB 617 affects only the content of the notice. It did not change which employers are covered, the 60-day advance-notice period, or the statutory definitions of “mass layoff,” “relocation,” or “termination.” Employers who were correctly determining WARN coverage before 2026 do not need to reassess that threshold analysis; they need to update their notice template.

Employers who fail to comply with Cal-WARN, whether by giving insufficient notice or by giving a notice that omits required disclosures, face liability for back pay and the value of lost benefits for each affected employee for the period of the violation, up to a maximum of 60 days. Civil penalties of up to $500 per day of violation may also apply, along with potential liability for attorney’s fees in a successful enforcement action. Because Cal-WARN claims are generally subject to a three-year statute of limitations, a defective 2026 notice can generate litigation well after the layoff itself has faded from memory.

Employers throughout Silicon Valley planning a reduction in force in 2026 should not reuse a pre-2026 WARN notice template without review. Updating the template to include the four new disclosure categories, confirming the correct local workforce development board contact information, and documenting the employer’s rapid-response coordination decision are straightforward steps that meaningfully reduce litigation exposure. McLellan Law Group advises businesses throughout Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County on Cal-WARN compliance and workforce restructuring.