On July 1, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill No. 96, which, in addition to establishing the state’s operating budget for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, introduced a new mini-WARN statute, Ohio Revised Code § 4113.31 (Ohio WARN), requiring employers to provide notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs. The new law is set to take effect on September 29, 2025.

Quick Hits

• Ohio WARN largely mirrors the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by requiring covered employers to provide sixty days’ advance notice before a plant closing or mass layoff.
• Ohio WARN includes ambiguities regarding its stated intent and which “mass layoffs” will trigger its notice requirements.
• Ohio WARN includes state-specific notice content requirements, including “[a] detailed statement explaining the reason” for the closure or mass layoff and information about available support for impacted employees.
• Ohio WARN incorporates federal WARN exceptions and remedies but imposes an additional required notice to be provided to the chief elected officer for the county in which the plant closing or mass layoff occurs.

Sixty-Day Notice Requirement and Exceptions

Like its federal counterpart, Ohio WARN requires covered employers to provide at least sixty days’ advance written notice before a qualifying layoff or closure. Ohio WARN also expressly adopts federal WARN’s exceptions to its sixty-day notice requirement, including shortened notice periods resulting from...

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