Barack Obama: Senators Propose New Help for Workers During Mass Layoffs

Brown, Obama, Clinton Want to Strengthen 19-Year-Old Plant Closing Law

July 17, 2007 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, joined by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), late last night introduced new legislation that would notify workers of mass firings or plant closings and add tools to enforce current law. The Federal Oversight, Reform, and Enforcement of the WARN Act (FOREWARN) (S.1792) would amend the current Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which became law in 1988, to better protect workers.

“While notice of a layoff is no substitute for a job, the WARN Act was supposed to give employees time to find a new job and for help to be provided,” said Senator Brown, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “Under current law, fair notice has proven to be the exception, not the rule. Employers have laid off workers in phases to avoid threshold level, used subsidiaries to evade liability, and pressured workers to sign documents to waive their rights. This needs to change now.”

“For too long, employers have failed to notify workers that they’re about to lose their jobs due to mass layoffs or plant closings even though notice is required by the WARN Act.” said Senator Obama. “This bill will transform the WARN Act from a symbol into an enforceable law. The least employers can do when they’re anticipating layoffs is to let workers know they’re going to be out of a job and a pay check with enough time to plan for their future.”

“Congress passed the WARN Act two decades ago to protect workers and their families from the harmful effects of sudden plant closings and mass layoffs. While the Act was designed to give workers the opportunity to adjust to the imminent loss of employment, it has become clear that the Act is not achieving that goal. The FOREWARN Act is much needed legislation that will update and modernize the law to better reflect the needs of U.S. workers in a 21st century economy and ensure that workers receive the fair notice that they need and deserve,” said Senator Clinton.

The WARN Act now provides workers 60 days’ notification in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. Employees entitled to notice under WARN include managers and supervisors, as well as hourly and salaried workers. WARN requires that notice also be given to a union, a local elected official, and the state department of labor.

According to estimates by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 24 percent of all layoffs are subject to WARN requirements. Of those layoffs, employers provided notice in approximately one-third of these situations.

The FOREWARN Act would give the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and state attorneys general the authority to enforce the WARN Act, and would increase penalties to double back pay plus benefits. In addition, it would reduce the mass layoff figure from 50 to 25, reduce the employer size from 100 to 50 employees, and lower the mass layoff trigger. The lower thresholds would protect employees in many smaller manufacturing firms. It would also lengthen the notification period from 60 to 90 days and require employers to provide written notification to the Department of Labor.

“Job loss does not just affect a worker or a worker’s family. Job loss devastates entire communities and local economies. It is absolutely critical that in these situations, workers and groups have sufficient notice to begin working to attempt to limit the damage this causes in a community. This legislation will close the loopholes and provide the tools necessary for enforcement of the rules,” Senator Brown added.

Source: Senator Barack Obama