Thursday, October 04, 2007
[IWS] CRS: WORKER ADJUSTMENT & RETRAINING NOTIFICATION ACT (WARN) [update 26 September 2007]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL31250
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Updated September 26, 2007
Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://opencrs.cdt.org/rpts/RL31250_20070926.pdf
[full-text, 13 pages]
Summary
Congress has passed legislation to facilitate the reemployment of workers who
through no fault of their own are terminated by their employers. Statutes include the
Workforce Investment Act, which provides various reemployment services to
dislocated workers among others; the Trade Adjustment Assistance program for
workers, which provides reemployment services to trade-affected displaced workers;
and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which
provides advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings.
Congress enacted the WARN Act (P.L. 100-379) in 1988 after lengthy
contentious debate. There was little interest in the law during the decade following
its passage because generally robust economic conditions prevailed. Interest has
renewed in the current decade for a variety of reasons, including the growth in
offshore outsourcing (offshoring) of U.S. jobs and perceived shortcomings of the
WARN Act. Most recently, S. 1792 and H.R. 3662 were introduced. The bills
would amend the statute to require more businesses to provide notice to more
workers and lengthen the notice period. They also would increase the back pay
penalty for violation of the law and authorize the Secretary of Labor to bring civil
action on behalf of workers as well as make educational materials more readily
available. While S. 1792 would require employers to notify the U.S. Department of
Labor of covered plant closings and mass layoffs after they had occurred, H.R. 3662
would require advance notice to be given to the Secretary of Labor and to U.S.
senators and representatives, state senators and representatives, and state governors
in the areas in which the plant is located.
The WARN Act now requires employers to provide written notice to displaced
workers or their representatives, state dislocated worker units or entities designated
by the state to carry out rapid response activities, and the chief elected official of a
unit of local government at least 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff is
expected to occur. Shorter notice may be provided in three instances. There are a
number of other exceptions to and exemptions from the notification requirement.
Relatively small businesses and small short-term layoffs are not subject to the
WARN Act. Firms with 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees,
must provide advance notice. A plant closing is a shutdown of a work site that
produces job losses for at least 50 employees (other than part-time employees) within
any 30-day period. A mass layoff is an employment loss at a job site within any 30-
day period affecting (a) 50-499 employees (excluding part-timers) if they make up
at least one-third of an employer's workforce (excluding part-timers), or (b) at least
500 employees (excluding part-time employees).
Employees, their representatives, or units of local government can bring civil
actions against employers thought to have violated the act. DOL does not have any
investigative or enforcement authority under the law. The maximum liability of
employers is back pay and benefits for each day that notice was not provided,
although the amount of the penalty may be reduced.
Contents
Length and Intent of the Act's Advance Notice Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Whom Does the Act Cover? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part-time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Employees Not Entitled to Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Closings and Layoffs to Which the Act Applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Exceptions to or Exemptions from P.L. 100-379 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Transfers or Reassignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sale of a Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Strikes and Lockouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Enforcement and Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Appendix: Layoffs Due to the September 11 Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
List of Tables
Table A-1. Extended Mass Layoffs and Worker Separations Directly or Indirectly Related to the September 11 Attacks, by Time Elapsed . . . . . . . . 8
Table A-2. Extended Mass Layoff Events and Worker Separations for the Weeks Ending September 15, 2001-January 12, 2002, Directly or Indirectly Attributed to the September 11 Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL31250
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
Updated September 26, 2007
Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://opencrs.cdt.org/rpts/RL31250_20070926.pdf
[full-text, 13 pages]
Summary
Congress has passed legislation to facilitate the reemployment of workers who
through no fault of their own are terminated by their employers. Statutes include the
Workforce Investment Act, which provides various reemployment services to
dislocated workers among others; the Trade Adjustment Assistance program for
workers, which provides reemployment services to trade-affected displaced workers;
and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which
provides advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings.
Congress enacted the WARN Act (P.L. 100-379) in 1988 after lengthy
contentious debate. There was little interest in the law during the decade following
its passage because generally robust economic conditions prevailed. Interest has
renewed in the current decade for a variety of reasons, including the growth in
offshore outsourcing (offshoring) of U.S. jobs and perceived shortcomings of the
WARN Act. Most recently, S. 1792 and H.R. 3662 were introduced. The bills
would amend the statute to require more businesses to provide notice to more
workers and lengthen the notice period. They also would increase the back pay
penalty for violation of the law and authorize the Secretary of Labor to bring civil
action on behalf of workers as well as make educational materials more readily
available. While S. 1792 would require employers to notify the U.S. Department of
Labor of covered plant closings and mass layoffs after they had occurred, H.R. 3662
would require advance notice to be given to the Secretary of Labor and to U.S.
senators and representatives, state senators and representatives, and state governors
in the areas in which the plant is located.
The WARN Act now requires employers to provide written notice to displaced
workers or their representatives, state dislocated worker units or entities designated
by the state to carry out rapid response activities, and the chief elected official of a
unit of local government at least 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff is
expected to occur. Shorter notice may be provided in three instances. There are a
number of other exceptions to and exemptions from the notification requirement.
Relatively small businesses and small short-term layoffs are not subject to the
WARN Act. Firms with 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees,
must provide advance notice. A plant closing is a shutdown of a work site that
produces job losses for at least 50 employees (other than part-time employees) within
any 30-day period. A mass layoff is an employment loss at a job site within any 30-
day period affecting (a) 50-499 employees (excluding part-timers) if they make up
at least one-third of an employer's workforce (excluding part-timers), or (b) at least
500 employees (excluding part-time employees).
Employees, their representatives, or units of local government can bring civil
actions against employers thought to have violated the act. DOL does not have any
investigative or enforcement authority under the law. The maximum liability of
employers is back pay and benefits for each day that notice was not provided,
although the amount of the penalty may be reduced.
Contents
Length and Intent of the Act's Advance Notice Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Whom Does the Act Cover? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part-time Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Employees Not Entitled to Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Closings and Layoffs to Which the Act Applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Exceptions to or Exemptions from P.L. 100-379 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Transfers or Reassignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sale of a Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Strikes and Lockouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Enforcement and Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Appendix: Layoffs Due to the September 11 Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
List of Tables
Table A-1. Extended Mass Layoffs and Worker Separations Directly or Indirectly Related to the September 11 Attacks, by Time Elapsed . . . . . . . . 8
Table A-2. Extended Mass Layoff Events and Worker Separations for the Weeks Ending September 15, 2001-January 12, 2002, Directly or Indirectly Attributed to the September 11 Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 11:03 AM
