ALERT: New York WARN Act Imposes Additional Requirements

Companies contemplating or instituting a plant closing or mass layoff in New York should know that Governor David Patterson has signed into law S.8212, the New York State Worker Adjustment And Retraining Notification Act, (the "NY WARN Act"), which imposes requirements on employers in addition to those currently imposed by the federal WARN Act.* Generally, the federal WARN Act requires employers of 100 or more employees to provide employees affected by a plant closing or mass layoff with 60 days' advance notice. By contrast, under the NY WARN Act, employers with 50 or more employees must provide 90 days' advance written notice of mass layoffs, plant closings, or relocations. More specifically, the NY WARN Act requires employers to provide advance written notice if (1) a mass layoff results in employment losses during a 30-day period affecting at least 25 full-time employees representing at least 33% of