State & Local Laws
In addition to the WARN Act, which is a federal law, several states have enacted similar acts that require advance notice or severance payments to employees facing job loss from a mass layoff or plant closing. For example, California requires advance notice for plant closings, layoffs, and relocations of 50 or more employees regardless of percentage of workforce, that is, without the federal "one-third" rule for mass layoffs of fewer than 500 employees. Also, the California law applies to employers with 75 or more employees, counting both full-time and part-time employees.
The following states and localities have passed state or local WARN Acts.
- California
- City of Philadelphia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota (voluntary)
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Wisconsin
A number of states have laws that create ancillary duties at the time of job layoffs, but which generally do not seek to mandate advance notice or severance payments to workers in a manner similar to the federal WARN Act, other states' statutes or the laws found in Canadian or European jurisdictions. Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania have statutes that require filing certain disclosure statements when businesses are the takeover targets of other corporations or when businesses are being dissolved. The statements generally require disclosure of plans to close facilities in the state. Connecticut requires employers to maintain health insurance for a certain period of time following the relocation of operations. Kansas requires the approval of state officials when businesses plan to close facilities or significantly cut production in select industries. Maryland, Michigan and Minnesota have statutes that ask employers to voluntarily provide advance notice to workers in the event of mass layoffs; however these states to not require compliance with the state's statute. Montana and Nevada statutes require advance notice to certain public employees facing layoff. Oregon and Tennessee have laws that simply implement the federal WARN Act. South Carolina requires that employers provide the same notice to laid off workers that workers are contractually required to provide to the employer when leaving their employment. Ohio requires that state unemployment agency officials be notified several days in advance of mass layoffs.
Read more about this topic: Worker Adjustment And Retraining Notification Act
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