New York has many laws that were created to make sure that employees are protected from unscrupulous or illegal practices by employers. One of those laws is the WARN Act. The New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is another employee protection put in place in NY. The WARN Act helps employees who are facing layoffs by giving them as much time as possible to find new jobs and in some cases providing retraining or other tools that they can use to find new employment.
What Is the WARN Act?
The WARN act is the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. This NY law requires business that have a certain number of employees to provide early warnings of closures and layoffs to all affected employees, employee representatives, the Department of Labor, and Local Workforce Development Boards. In addition, the business must notify the chief elected official of the local government where the site of employment is located; the school district or districts where the site of employment is located; and each locality that provides police, firefighting, emergency medical or ambulance services, or other emergency services, to the locale where the site of employment is located.
What Businesses Does The WARN Act Apply to?
The WARN Act applies to private businesses in NY that have more than 50 employees. Businesses must also issue a WARN notice if there is a layoff that affects either at least 25 employees or 250 employees from a single site. That means that large employers must let people on their job sites know if their jobs are going to get cut due to economic factors. Employers have to give enough notice so that employees can start to look for other jobs or use retraining services or career services to find other jobs.
What If My Employer Violates the WARN Act?
If you work for a private employer in New York that violated the WARN Act by not providing employees with the required advance notice of layoffs or firings, you can notify the New York State Department of Labor. If the New York State Board Of Labor investigates and finds that your employer did in fact violate the WARN Act you could be entitled to receive money for back pay, lump sums for pain and suffering, or money for retraining or other services that you should have had access to.
Get Help With Your Claim
If you have been laid off without advance notice or fired without warning in violation of New York’s WARN Act you should speak to an employment attorney in New York. An employment attorney that specializes in New York employment law can advise you and help you file a claim against your employer. An employment law attorney can also help you fight your employer if you were not given the advance notice that is required by law before you were laid off. Fill out a Free Case Evaluation now to get connected with an independent employment attorney that may be able to help with your case.
