On March 18th, California Governor Newsom, at the urging of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, granted some relief to business owners in the state by suspending the requirements of the California WARN Act. In an Executive Order, Governor Newsom acknowledging that the unprecedented spread of COVID-19 has caused "business needs and circumstances to change in ways that were not reasonably foreseeable as recently as just weeks and days ago, necessitating rapid changes in workforce needs" declared that California employers are relieved of their duties under the Cal-WARN Act on the condition that they: (i) give the notice that is required under the Labor Code; (ii) give "as much notice as is practicable..."; (iii) order a mass layoff, relocation, or termination that is caused by COVID-19 related "business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time that the notice would have been required; and (iv) include the following statement in the notices, "If you have lost your job or been laid off temporarily, you may be eligible for unemployment insurance (UI). More information on UI and other resources available for workers is available at labor.ca.gov/coronavirus2019."
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