Sweeping Amendments to NJ WARN Act, § 34:21-1 et seq., went into effect on April 10, 2023. These Amendments increase the economic benefits to employees terminated in mass layoffs. In 2020, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed these sweeping amendments into law. They originally were to take effect in July 2020, however the starting date was delayed due to Covid’s effects on businesses. “WARN” is an acronym for “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.”
The NJ WARN Act has always imposed more stringent requirements for worker protections than the Federal Warn Act. The NJ Amendments which took effect on April 10, 2023 further expand the rights due to NJ employees laid off in a mass layoff. The term “Establishment” in the statute means a place of employment which has been operated by an employer. It affects places of employment which have been operated by an employer for a period longer than three years, but does not include a temporary construction site.
What Triggers the NJ Warn Act?
NJ WARN is now triggered by a reduction-in-force of 50 or more employees within in a 30-day period who report to a place of employment, or “Establishment.” Multiple rounds of layoffs within a 90-day period will be aggregated for this purpose unless the employer can demonstrate a separate cause for each round of layoffs. See § 34:21-2. (c), below for fuller text of this section.
How Are Workers Affected under the 2023 Amendments?
Under the Amended NJ Warn Act, § 34:21-1. Definitions relative to pre-notification of certain plant closings, transfers, and mass layoffs:
“Employer” means an individual or private business entity which employs the workforce at an establishment.
“Establishment” means a place of employment which has been operated by an employer for a period longer than three years, but shall not include a temporary construction site.
“Establishment” may be a single location or a group of locations, including any facilities located in this State.
“Facility” means a building.
“Mass layoff” means a reduction in force which is not the result of a transfer or termination of operations and which results in the termination of employment at an establishment during any 30-day period for 50 or more of the employees at or reporting to the establishment,
“Operating unit” means an organizationally distinct product, operation, or specific work function within or across facilities at a single establishment.
What Has Changed?
The term “Establishment,” prior to these Amendments meant a single, contiguous place of employment. The definition of “Establishment,” is now expanded to include all work locations within New Jersey. Now, “Establishment” may be a single place of employment or facility or a group of locations, including any place of employment located in this State, under § 34:21-1.
The expanded NJ WARN Act applies to businesses with at least 100 full-time employees when a layoff involves at least 50 employees if that business has been operating in New Jersey for at least three years. It no longer matters how scattered is the distribution of the geographic locations of the 100 full-time employees or work locations of the terminated 50 employees.
Employers cannot escape providing the employee protections of this law by having employees scattered throughout the state, so as to not meet the required minimum 100 full-time employees Now employees working at dispersed locations have the umbrella protection of the law when those employees don’t work at the same location if a business has multiple work locations throughout the state.
The Main Substantive Changes Are the Notice Requirements, the Inclusion of Part-time Employees, and Mandatory Severance
Notice Requirements Have Increased
The employers must now provide a minimum of 90 days’ notice. This is 30 days more than the previous 60 days requirement.
Under § 34:21-2. (a), Requirements for establishments subject to transfer, termination of operations, mass layoffs, it states: If an establishment is subject to a transfer of operations or a termination of operations which results, during any continuous period of not more than 30 days, in the termination of employment of 50 or more employees, or if an employer conducts a mass layoff, the employer who operates the establishment or conducts the mass layoff shall: Provide, in the case of an employer who employs 100 or more employees, not less than 90 days.
Part-time Workers Must Now Receive Severance Pay
§ 34:21-2. (b), states [the Employer] must provide to each employee whose employment is terminated severance pay equal to one week of pay for each full year of employment. Part-time terminated employees weren’t previously guaranteed severance. With the amendments, both part-time and full-time employees must receive severance pay totaling a week for every year they’ve worked for the company. Companies cannot escape severance payment by having a permanent part-time workforce.
Penalties for Failure to Comply
§ 34:21-2. (b), states: If the employer provides any terminated employee in a mass layoff as defined by the statute, with less than the number of days of notification required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, [90 days] the employer shall provide that employee with an additional four weeks of pay.
Companies that fail to comply must provide the impacted employees in the mass layoff, both part-time and full-time employees, with an additional four weeks of severance pay.
§ 34:21-2. (c). states in part:
In determining whether a termination or transfer of operations or a mass layoff is subject to the notification requirements of this section, any terminations of employment for two or more groups at a single establishment occurring within any 90-day period, when each group has less than the number of terminations which would trigger the notification requirements of this section but the aggregate for all of the groups exceeds that number, shall be regarded as subject to the notification requirements unless the employer demonstrates that the cause of the terminations for each group is separate and distinct from the causes of the terminations for the other group or groups.
If You Quit Your Job, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit
If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you. In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose the right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed.
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I am successful in bringing employee lawsuits against governmental entities and private employers and recovering money for victims of harassment, retaliation and other discrimination laws. If you have been fired, not had your contract renewed, think you are not being paid your full wages, or being pushed out of your job or retaliated against, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and in every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.