Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (1988)
10 July 2006,
29 U.S.C. §§2101-2109
Coverage and Prohibition: The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”) requires that employers with 100 or more employees nationwide must provide workers with 60 days advance notice of a plant closing causing an employment loss for 50 or more employees within any 30-day period. The employer also must provide 60 days notice of a mass layoff that will cause an employment loss, at a single cite, within any 30-day period, for one third of the work force and at least 50 employees or for 500 or more employees (regardless of whether this constitutes one third of the work force) at a single work site.
Employment loss is defined in the Act as an employment termination, layoff exceeding six months, or a reduction of hours of work of more than 50 percent during each month of any six month period. In determining whether a plant closing or mass layoff has occurred, employment losses for two or more groups, each of which is less than the minimum but which occur within any 90-day period and which in aggregate exceed the minimum shall be considered a plant closing or mass layoff unless the employer shows that the losses are results of separate and distinct actions and causes. The Act excludes from the number of affected employees retirees, persons discharged for cause, and those accepting transfers to another employment site. The Act reduces the notification period for employers trying to obtain capital or new business, and no notification is required for a plant closing or mass layoff resulting from a natural disaster. This Act is not meant to alter or affect existing employee rights to notice of layoff, but is meant to run concurrently with any other notification period required by state law or by a collective bargaining agreement. The notice required is to be directed to the representative of the affected employees, or if there is no representative, to each affected employee, to the state dislocated worker unit, and to the chief elected official of the unit of local government in which the closing or layoff occurs.
Enforcement: Any aggrieved employee, employee representative, or the local government of the affected community may bring an action in federal court for enforcement of the Act. Although it has no enforcement duties, the Department of Labor has issued regulations interpreting and guiding administration of the Act.
Remedies: Specified remedies are set forth in the Act and include back pay and benefits for each employee for the period of violation, up to 60 days. Prevailing plaintiffs also may recover reasonable attorney’s fees.
Related Regulations:
Department of Labor: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, 20 C.F.R §§639.1-639.10.
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