The New York State Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“NY Mini-WARN”) Act is designed to give employees, their representatives, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), and the local Workforce Investment Board early warning of business closings and layoffs. Under NY Mini-WARN, covered employers are required to provide 90 days’ notice prior to a plant closing, mass layoff or relocation occurring on or after February 1, 2009.
On February 12, 2010, the NYSDOL amended its NY Mini-WARN Regulations. Included in the various changes made to the regulations are the following:
- The new regulations provide for additional information that must be included in the content of the required notices to the N.Y. Commissioner of Labor, each affected employee, the employees’ representative(s) and the local Workforce Investment Board.
- Providing notice by e-mail is now permitted so long as certain requirements are satisfied.
- The definition of the term “date of layoff”” has been revised to mean “the last day an employee is eligible or permitted to work for his or her employer.”
- A covered “relocation” must affect at least 25 employees.
- The new regulations clarify which entity must provide notice in the event of the sale of a business, the consolidation of all or part of a business, or a merger.
- The new regulations also address the application of NY Mini-WARN in bankruptcy situations.
Also revised and/or clarified are:
- the definition of “single site of employment”
- the look-ahead/look-behind aggregation requirements
- the regulations on temporary employment (including provisions on seasonal employment which have been added); and
- the liability, enforcement and confidentiality provisions.
The text of the amendments to the regulations is available here.