§2102 Notice required before plant closings and mass layoffs

Summary

Employers must give written notice at least 60 days before closing a plant or doing a mass layoff. The notice must go to each employee representative (or to each affected worker if there is no representative), to the State or state agency that runs rapid response under section 3174(a)(2)(A), and to the chief elected official of the local government where the closing or layoff will happen. An employer can act sooner in a few cases: if it was actively trying to get money or business and honestly believed telling people would stop that; if the need to close or lay off was caused by business events that could not have been reasonably predicted; or if a natural disaster like a flood, earthquake, or severe drought causes the closing. In those cases the employer must give as much notice as possible and a short explanation of why less notice was given. A layoff that was said to last 6 months or less but goes longer counts as an employment loss unless the longer period was not reasonably foreseeable and notice is given when it becomes foreseeable. Multiple small layoffs at one site that together exceed the law’s minimum within 90 days are treated as one closing or mass layoff unless the employer proves they were separate and unrelated.