While most of us have been focused on the new federal laws in
the form the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act
the past few weeks, employers must not forget some of the old laws
that can be implicated as action is taken to combat a slack in
business or loss of business altogether due to the Coronavirus
pandemic. One old federal law in particular is the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (more
popularly known as WARN) as employers are often
left with little choice but to significantly cut employee work
hours, layoff or furlough employees, or unfortunately close the
business completely during the economic downturn.
If you are contemplating such business decisions, the requisites
of WARN must be considered and should be adhered to by covered
employers.
