The New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development has issued a Notification Form that employers are to use when giving advance notice of a mass layoff or shutdown of operations under the recently enacted New Jersey mini-WARN statute (officially known as the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act). As addressed in our January 2008 Client Alert concerning the new law, New Jersey's mini-WARN statute became effective December 20, 2007 and mandates 60 days' advance notice to employees who are terminated in a mass layoff, or in a transfer or termination of operations, if certain numerical thresholds are reached. Employers who fail to provide the requisite notice will owe employees one week of severance pay for each year of service. The law directed the Commissioner to issue a notice form that employers would thereafter be required to use and it is now available online at http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forsms_pdfs/lwdhome/Legal/LayoffNotificationForm2_31208REVDD6.pdf. The Website link also contains a summary of the requirements of New Jersey's mini-WARN statute.
Information required on the Notice Form includes:
- contact information for the company and, if applicable, for the employee's union;
- the number of employees to be terminated;
- the dates on which each termination will occur;
- the date of and reason for the mass layoff or shutdown of operations;
- whether employment is being offered at another location and, if so, details regarding such other employment; and
- the rights the terminated employee may have with respect to wages, severance pay, pension, benefits, or any other terms of employment.
The Notice Form advises employees of their right to receive information from the Department's response team during work-time at the worksite. The Notice Form must be provided to:
- each employee who is to be terminated;
- the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development;
- the Chief Elected Official in the municipality where the terminations are to occur; and
- if applicable, to the union.
The Notice Form, however, does not specifically cover all of the items required for a federal WARN notice to employees. For example, WARN requires the employer to provide information about whether the employee has bumping rights, which is not mentioned on the New Jersey form. WARN also requires that the employer state whether the planned action is permanent or temporary, and, if the entire plant is to be closed, a statement to that effect. The New Jersey form contains a box to be checked if a "transfer" or "termination" of operations will occur, but does not ask whether such will be permanent or temporary, or whether the plant is to be closed. Accordingly, New Jersey employers will need to be sure to provide the additional information to affected employees that WARN requires, and not rely solely on providing the information requested on the New Jersey form. Further, the information required for WARN notices to unions, the state dislocated worker unit and the chief elected official of the local government also differs from the New Jersey form, such that a separate WARN notice would be needed for those entities, in addition to the New Jersey form.
EDITORS' COMMENT: The New Jersey Mini-WARN statute contains many other details in addition to those discussed above and employers contemplating a mass layoff or a termination or transfer of operations in New Jersey should consult with legal counsel to assure compliance with the law's standards. A more in-depth discussion of the statute is contained in our January 2008 Client Alert at: http://www.proskauer.com/news_publications/client_alerts/content/2008_01_16/_res/id=sa_PDF/15611-011508-New%20Mini-WARN%20Statute%20in%20New%20Jerseyv3-ca.pdf.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
