Article provided by our partners at WFJ Law Firm and The Compliance Center
Nebraska employers planning larger workforce reductions will soon have a new state notice law to account for. The State of Nebraska enacted the Nebraska Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a state “mini-WARN” law that becomes effective on July 18, 2026. The new Nebraska law requires covered employers to provide advance written notice before certain business closings and mass layoffs.
The law applies to employers with 100 or more employees, excluding “part-time” employees. A part-time employee generally means an employee who works 19 or fewer per week on average, or who has been employed for fewer than six of the 12 months before notice is required.
The new law requires covered employers to give employees and the Nebraska Department of Labor 90 days’ advance written notice before conducting a “business closing” or “mass layoff.” A “business closing” occurs when there is a permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units at a single site, resulting in an employment loss for 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees. Additionally, a “mass layoff” occurs when a reduction-in-force, not resulting from a business closing, causes an employment loss at a single site of employment during any 30-day period for 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees. The law also contains a 90-day aggregation rule for employment losses. Employers planning staged layoffs or multiple related employment actions should not assume each wave can be reviewed in isolation. Employers must still comply with their notice requirements if the loss of jobs in a 90-day period constitutes a “business closing” or “mass layoff.”
The 90 days’ advance notice employers must send employees and the Nebraska Department of Labor must include the following information:
- The employment site name and address
- Company’s contact information.
- Whether the action is permanent or temporary
- The expected date and schedule of employment losses
- Job titles and names of affected employees
- Copies of all employee handbooks, personnel policies, and employment-related policies applicable to affected employees or a statement identify where such materials can be accessed online.
Employers must also post the notice in a conspicuous location in the languages spoken by at least 5% of the employer’s workforce.
The new state law is, however, not without flexibility. Nebraska’s Mini-WARN Act also includes limited exceptions to the full 90-day notice requirement, including unforeseeable business circumstances, natural disasters, and business closings where the employer was actively seeking capital or business. When an employer relies on one of these exceptions, it must still provide a statement explaining why the notice period was shortened. Nebraska also permits employers to reduce the notice period by providing severance payments or wages in lieu of notice, if the payments are at least equal to the regular pay the employee would have earned for the workdays during the notice period.
Nebraska employers should update reduction-in-force planning procedures, identify who will prepare WARN notices, review access to employee handbooks and policies, and determine whether any workforce language groups meet the 5% posting threshold. The main practical takeaway is simple: start the WARN analysis earlier and build the state-specific notice requirements into the process from the beginning.
As always, please contact the Compliance Center with any questions.