In this installment of LaborSpeak, we discuss several key changes to the New Jersey WARN Act that employers should be aware of. These amendments will cover terminations occurring on or after April 10, 2023.
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Transcript
Employers should be aware of several key changes to the New Jersey Warren act that will cover terminations occurring on or after April 10 2023. These amendments will require employers with a hundred or more employees to provide at least 90 days advance notice to affected employees as part of a mass layoff impacting at least 50 employees at or reporting to an establishment in New Jersey but the definition of establishment will require employers to aggregate all New Jersey locations to determine if the 50 employee threshold is met this is a lower threshold to trigger the act and requires 30 more days of notice than the existing law the Amendments also eliminate the distinction between full-time and part-time employees so part-time employees must be counted and are entitled to advance notice and severance pay like full-time employees the Amendments also include employees reporting to an establishment for the employee calculation so this likely includes remote workers though it is not specifically addressed under the current law full-time employees are entitled to at least one week of severance pay per year of service only if they do not receive required notice but the Amendments provide that every employee is entitled to receive both notice and severance this is different than practice under Federal Warrant Where often employers pay wages and benefits in lieu of notice here both are required an employee who does not receive the required notice and Severance must receive an additional four weeks of severance and the rights of severance may only be waived by the state or court order employers should consider that if they want a release of claims as part of a layoff triggering New Jersey warrants they must provide a severance amount greater than what is already required for severance under the law employers preparing for layoffs should be mindful of these changes to avoid costs related to non-compliance if you have questions about layoffs federal or state warrant Acts or any other labor matters please reach out to a member of our labor and employment team foreign