Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Layoff

New Jersey WARN Act Amendments to Go Into Effect

by

Posted in Reductions in Force

On January 11, 2023

Yesterday, Governor Murphy signed into law legislation removing the hold on amendments to the New Jersey WARN Act (officially, the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act), enacted by the Legislature in January 2020, but suspended in March of that year. Back then the Legislature decided that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these amendments should not take effect until 90 days after Governor Murphy rescinded his Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency. That Executive Order remains in effect, but because of yesterday’s action, the 2020 amendments will now take effect April 10, 2023. These amendments greatly expand the scope of the Act and, consequently, the burden the Act places on employers. The Act now ends the distinction between full-time and part-time employees in two important respects. For the first time, part-time employees will be counted to determine whether an employee has at least 100 employees in New Jersey, thus subjecting an employer to the Act’s obligations. Also for the first time, part-time employees are to be counted when determining whether a sufficient number of employees will be terminated to trigger the Act’s notice obligations. Employers must now give 90-days’ notice of an upcoming “mass layoff,” “termination of operations,” or “transfer of operations.” Previously, only 60-days’ notice was required. The Act’s definition of a...

The New Jersey WARN Act and the Coronavirus Epidemic – Update II

by

Posted in Reductions in Force

On July 14, 2021

On January 21, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law major amendments to the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act, more commonly referred to as the New Jersey WARN Act (“the Act”). These amendments require employers with 100 or more employees to give 90-days’ advance notice to the affected employees of any reduction in force involving at least 50 employees. Employees not given the required notice may bring a civil action for damages. Even when the employer complies with the Act’s notice requirements, the amendments require the employer to pay the affected employee severance in an amount equal to one week of pay for each year of service. Failure to comply with the notice requirements will entitle each affected employee to an additional four weeks of severance pay. A fuller discussion of the amendments can be found here. The amendments were to take effect on July 19, 2020, but, because of subsequent actions by the legislature in response to the coronavirus pandemic (see here), the effective date was changed to the 90th day after the termination of Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 103, issued on March 9, 2020, which declared a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak. Until recently, Executive Order 103 remained in place without...

EEOC Injects Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccine Practices in the Workplace

by and

Posted in Disability / Discrimination / Policies and Handbooks

On December 23, 2020

In the wake of the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) addressed a question weighing heavily on the minds of businesses and their employees: can an employer require its employees to get vaccinated? The EEOC’s December 16, 2020 guidance answered that question in the affirmative, but, as with most pronouncements during the pandemic, the issue is far from simple, and employers must pay close attention to what the guidance says, and what it does not say, when crafting their COVID-19 vaccination policies. The EEOC Guidance characterizes an employer-mandated vaccine as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-permitted, safety-based qualification standard, akin to “a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.” Employers can require employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but must allow for exceptions where employees are unable to receive the vaccine because of either disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs. Employees with Disabilities: Where a mandatory vaccination policy would screen out an individual with a disability, the employer must show that the unvaccinated employee would pose a direct threat in the workplace due to a “significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or...

The New Jersey WARN Act and the Coronavirus Epidemic—An Update

by

Posted in Reductions in Force

On April 15, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed into law new amendments to the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act, more commonly referred to as the New Jersey WARN Act. The new amendments apply to the current statute and to prior amendments enacted on January 21 of this year that were to take effect on July 19, 2020. A full discussion of the January 21 amendments can be found here. Once the January 21 amendments go into effect, the Act will require employers with 100 or more employees to give advance notice to the affected employees of any reduction in force involving at least 50 employees. Employees not given the required notice currently may bring a civil action for damages; when the January 21 amendments take effect, even when an employer complies with the Act’s notice requirements, each affected employee will be entitled to severance pay in an amount equal to one week of pay for each year of service. The new amendments to the Act have important implications for the Act’s notice and severance provisions. On March 13, 2020, President Trump utilized the National Emergency Act to declare a national emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak. Under the current WARN Act and the January 21 amendments, an...

NJ WARN Act May Apply to Parent and Affiliated Companies

by

Posted in Reductions in Force

On June 20, 2011

The Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (the “New Jersey WARN Act”), may apply not only to the direct employer, but also to parent and affiliated companies if certain factors are present. In DeRosa v. Accredited Home Lenders, Inc., et al., the New Jersey Appellate Division concluded that, “in determining single-employer status under the New Jersey WARN Act, [] courts should apply the five-factor test” applicable to its federal counterpart, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (the federal WARN Act). Those factors, set forth at 20 C.F.R. 639.3(a)(2) are:”(i) common ownership, (ii) common directors and/or officers, (iii) de facto exercise of control, (iv) unity of personnel policies emanating from a common source, and (v) the dependency of operations.” The appellate court left open the possibility that other tests may also apply, such as the common law standard for piercing the corporate veil and the integrated enterprise or integrated employer tests.

Connect:

About Gibbons

With 200 attorneys, Gibbons is a leading law firm in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, DC, and Florida, ranked among the nation’s top 200 by The American Lawyer. More…

Subscribe

Archived Blog Posts

Categories