October 29, 2007

On Thursday, October 25, the House Committee on Education and Labor approved the Early Warning and Health Care for Workers Affected by Globalization Act (H.R. 3796) by a vote of 26-18.   The bill would rewrite current labor law dictating job-loss notice requirements for businesses.  It also changes the legal definitions of ‘single-site plant closing’ and ‘mass layoff’, consequently altering notification timeline requirements, pay-back costs, and healthcare benefit responsibilities for employers (with more than 100 workers) forced to lay-off 25 or more employees. 

Sponsored by Rep. George Miller (R-CA), the powerful Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, the bill:

• Amends the 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act;

• Affects employers with 100 or more employees laying off at least 25 of those employees (full or part-time) within any given 30-day period;

• Changes job-loss warning notification time from 60 days to 90 days, and orders notifications to be given to specific employees, not just to unions;

• Arms the Department of Labor (DOL) with authorization and a 2-year statute of limitations to investigate complaints by disgruntled employees and file lawsuits against employers;

• Orders employers to notify the DOL of their downsizing within a specified time-frame, or face penalties;

• Instructs DOL leaders to notify Senators and Representatives in affected areas of impending layoffs, and

• Increases benefits to laid-off employees, including payback benefits and continued healthcare.

The bill should pass the House easily given its strong Democratic support.  Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate (S. 1792), but it has not yet been considered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  NADCA will continue to monitor this issue and will alert the GAC to any new developments.

Do not hesitate to contact Alicia Oman in the NADCA Washington office (202-898-1444) if you have any questions about this emerging issue.