§1315 — Title 2 The Congress | U.S. Code

§1315 Rights and Protections Under Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

Title 2 › Chapter 24— CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY › Subchapter II— EXTENSION OF RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS › Part A— Employment Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave, Fair Labor Standards, Employee Polygraph Protection, Worker Adjustment and Retraining, Employment and Reemployment of Veterans, and Intimidation › § 1315

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Employing offices must wait 60 days after giving written notice to worker representatives (or to the workers if there are no representatives) before closing or ordering a mass layoff under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. If an office breaks this rule, workers can get the same remedies listed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of section 5(a) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1), (2), and (4)). Covered employee: includes employees of the Government Accountability Office. Employing office: includes the Government Accountability Office. A Board must write rules to carry out these requirements, and those rules should match the Department of Labor’s rules unless the Board shows good cause to change them. Subsections (a) and (b) take effect 1 year after January 23, 1995, except for the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress, where they take effect 1 year after the study under section 1371 is sent to Congress.

Title 2, §1315

The Congress — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)No employing office shall be closed or a mass layoff ordered within the meaning of section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) until the end of a 60-day period after the employing office serves written notice of such prospective closing or layoff to representatives of covered employees or, if there are no representatives, to covered employees.

(2)For purposes of this section, the term “covered employee” shall include employees of the Government Accountability Office and the term “employing office” shall include the Government Accountability Office.

(b)The remedy for a violation of subsection (a) shall be such remedy as would be appropriate if awarded under paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of section 5(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1), (2), and (4)).

(c)(1)The Board shall, pursuant to section 1384 of this title, issue regulations to implement this section.

(2)The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be the same as substantive regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to implement the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) except insofar as the Board may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the regulation, that a modification of such regulations would be more effective for the implementation of the rights and protections under this section.

(d)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective 1 year after January 23, 1995.

(2)This section shall be effective with respect to the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress 1 year after transmission to the Congress of the study under section 1371 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 115–141 struck out “and the Library of Congress” after “the Government Accountability Office” in two places. 2004—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office” in two places. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office” in heading and text.