WARN Notices
According to the New York State Department of Labor, Office of Dislocated Worker Programs.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers of more than 100 people to provide their employees with a minimum of 60 days notice of impending layoff or plant closings.
Under the law, employers are also required to inform the New York State Department of Labor , through what is commonly referred to as a WARN Notice. The WARN Notice indicates the company and contact individual, the total employees of the company, the number of employees to be affected, the reason for the plant closing or layoff, the layoff date, and the name of the collective bargaining agent representing the workers where appropriate.
Once this notice is received by the State Labor Department, its Office of Dislocated Worker Programs coordinates the response to this notice of impending loss of jobs.
States are empowered by this act to implement there own procedures to respond to plant closing and layoffs. In New York, the Department of Labor also provides copies of these notices to Empire State Development, the Business Council of New York State, the New York State AFL-CIO, NYSAC, local Workforce Investment Boards, and other agencies which can assist in addressing the needs of the employees to be affected.
The local response to the WARN notice is coordinated by a regional Rapid Response Specialist from the New York State Department of Labor who oversees the delivery of required assistance. The services coordinated to assist the employees affected can include programs of job search and employment counseling, assistance in applying for unemployment insurance benefits, training programs for new jobs, and in cases where international competition is determined to be the cause of the dislocation, assistance in applying for Trade Adjustment Assistance Benefits.
In some cases, assistance is provided to employers in help mitigate the size of the potential layoffs through measures such as shared work programs and other types of assistance from state and local agencies including economic development programs,
New requirements for employee notification of impending layoffs and closings were enacted during the last legislative session. Under the new provisions, employers of 50 or more employees will be required to provide their employees with 90 days notice of impending layoff. The new provisions of this law take affect in February of 2009.
A WARN Notice does not necessarily mean that all of the projected jobs in the notification will be lost. Economic conditions may change for the business which may result is some or all of the jobs being retained. These can include sale of the business to another company which will continue operations, receipt of a new contract or other positive developments that may eliminate the need for employment reductions.
For additional information about WARN Notices visit the New York State Department of Labor Website at:
