Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act: Revising the Act and Educational Materials Could Clarify Employer Responsibilities and Employee Rights;Report to the Congress

摘要

In 2001, job losses through extended mass layoffs reached 1.75 million, the highest level since 1995. To assist workers who have recently been laid off with job training and to facilitate their reemployment, Congress enacted the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act in 1988, which requires employers to provide advance notice to employees and state and local officials in the event of a mass layoff or plant closure. Advance notice allows workers and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain alternative jobs, and if necessary, to enter skill training that will allow these workers to compete successfully in the job market. According to both business and labor leaders, advance notice allows time for state officials to provide information about skill training and retraining services before the layoff or closure occurs.