Stronger Worker Protection: 90 Days Advance Notice for Layoffs and Closings
This Act amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to extend the notice period for site closings or mass layoffs from 60 to 90 days. It expands the definition of an employer to include entities with 50 or more employees or an annual payroll of at least $2 million. The bill also introduces requirements for short-time compensation during temporary layoffs and prohibits the waiver of employee rights in pre-dispute agreements.
Key points
Employers must provide 90 calendar days' advance written notice for mass layoffs or site closings (extended from the current federal standard of 60 days).
The definition of employer is expanded to include businesses with 50 or more employees or an annual payroll of at least $2,000,000.
The calculation of affected employees explicitly includes remote workers assigned to or associated with the site.
Rights and remedies under the Act cannot be waived through pre-dispute agreements, such as mandatory arbitration clauses.
The Act introduces liquidated damages equal to 30 days of back pay for violations.
Introduced
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