The federal Warn Act stipulates that when a company decides to lay off five hundred or more employees at one location, they must give at least 60 days notice. If they do not, they will be subject to various fines, including possible back pay to employees. The purpose of the Warn Act is to help employees and their families adjust to their imminent loss of a job, and to look for other work. Regarding employees, the law covers supervisors, managers, hourly, and salaried workers. The Warn Act is not universal, however. For instance, if a faltering company is striving, in good faith, to seek investment opportunities, and can prove that layoff notifications would hurt potential business opportunities, or if a natural disaster occurs and forces a company out of business, the Warn Act does not need to be applied. The Warn Act does not stipulate how much severance pay employees are entitled to. Various states such as California and New Jersey have their own versions of the Warn Act, which in some cases are stricter than the federal version.