Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
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Public Law 100-379, August 4, 1988, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) became effective 4 February 1989.
The law requires an employer to provide affected employees, states and municipalities with a minimum 60-day notice before beginning a plant closing or mass layoff.
It is triggered by :
- * A closing that will result in loss of employment for six months or more for at least 50 employees to be laid off in any 30 day period.
- * A layoff of six months or more that will result in loss of employment for at least 33 percent of the employer’s workforce at a site, provided that at least 50 workers are affected.
- * A layoff of six months or more that will affect 500 employees at one site, regardless of other considerations.
A site may consist of physically connected facilities or those geographically separated but operationally connected within a single economic community.
Each employee to be affected must be given written notification, to include:
- Name and address of the employment site to be closed or where the mass layoff will occur.
- Nature of the planned action
- The expected date of the planned action and when the employee will be separated.
- Whether the employee has "bumping rights", i.e. can take another employee's job.
- Information on available dislocated worker assistance.
- Whether the action is expected to be temporary and, if known, the expected duration.