New York passed its own WARN Act this past August that takes effect Feb. 1, 2009.
So labor advocates are looking to put more teeth in the federal WARN Act early in the next Congress.
Those agreements would supersede any guarantee of notice afforded to them by the WARN Act, says Raisner.
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The WARN Act applies only to companies with at least 100 employees.
That guidance provides only three exceptions to a WARN Act notification.
That makes it more difficult for employers to circumvent the law by ordering staggered layoffs--a common employer trick to avoid the federal WARN act is the 49-person layoff.
Still, the WARN Act--passed in 1988 by a Democratic Congress with a veto-proof margin (it took effect without then-President Ronald Reagan's signature)--is a comparatively weak weapon for workers.
The Obama Administration issued a memorandum ( White House link) late Friday, instructing Federal contractors that they should not provide WARN Act notice to employees facing sequestration.
In light of these potential job losses, a strong argument can be made that contractors should send WARN Act notices even if doing so is purely out of self-interest.
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While the Department of Labor guidance was consistent with existing precedent, it seems to be inconsistent with The WARN Act Guide for Employers, issued by the Department of Labor.
The WARN Act requires employers to provide 90 days of notice before a mass layoff, defined as a reduction in workforce by 250 jobs (or 33 percent of the total) at one site.
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To avoid such a particularly untimely reminder of the president's dismal stewardship of his economic as well as national security portfolios, in July the Obama Labor Department issued guidance to defense contractors saying that the WARN Act's requirements would not be enforced.
But the conservationists warn that, unless they act now, they will soon have to choose between killing off the manatee population completely or restricting boats so severely that messing about on the rivers, canals and bays of South Florida will no longer be such fun.
However, under the Card Act, financial institutions must warn customers at least 45 days before making substantial changes to rates or fees.
The federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act requires employers to either give a full 60 days notice before closing a plant or engaging in a mass layoff or to pay dislocated workers 60 days of wages and benefits, including health insurance premiums.
If it is ruled unconstitutional, they warn, the very power and effect of the entire Voting Rights Act would crumble.
The act requires police to caution a suspect ahead of any questioning, warn him that anything he says could be used in evidence and entitles him to have a solicitor present.
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