LAYOFFS

Brush up on WARN Act rules; fed report prompts more scrutiny

12/01/2003
Count on hearing more about the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act in the coming months. Reason: Employers comply with the law (which requires 60-days' notice of mass layoffs or ...

Scrutinize true reasons for layoff; then banish all inconsistencies

11/01/2003
No one likes to choose among employees for company-mandated layoffs. But if you're given this task, research and recommend choices with defensible reasons that you can back up. Don't manufacture termination ...

You can't outsource your WARN Act notice obligations

10/01/2003
If your company outsources HR tasks, don't expect the outside provider to share the rap for a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act violation, the law that requires certain companies ...

Promote the value of your benefits plan

08/01/2003
Studies show that employees who keep their jobs after a round of layoffs tend to view their benefits package less highly. Nip that attitude in the bud by distributing a personalized ...

Give employees advance notice of severance plans, waivers

05/01/2003
Don't spring severance-plan details on employees right before a layoff. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) says you must give employees advance notice ...

Beware unintended bias against unmarried workers, applicants

03/01/2003
A new study gives your single employees and applicants new ideas for a lawsuit. The study by consultant Challenger, Gray and Christmas says unmarried people ...

Shutdown caused by sudden loss of business won't trigger WARN Act

02/01/2003
An automobile-parts manufacturer got a jolt when a major customer refused to pay for a shipment and ceased all future orders without warning. That forced the manufacturer ...

Don't stray from layoff procedures

01/01/2003
A 65-year-old employee was laid off as part of a reduction in force. She claimed her supervisor had made age-related comments, and the company failed to follow its published RIF criteria ...

The WARN Act: Notify staff before large-scale layoffs

10/01/2002
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires certain employers to give employees 60 days notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. Some states also have plant-closure laws that add additional mandates.

Be consistent in reasons for layoffs

09/01/2002
When a Wisconsin company restructured, it laid off a 44-year-old customer service rep. None of her direct supervisors or co-workers took part in deciding which employees would be laid off. But ...

Draft bulletproof waiver deals with 6 court-approved benchmarks

05/01/2002
Courtney Melanson suffered two years of unwanted sexual advances by her supervisor at Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI). She took medical leave due to the stress and, when she returned, BFI assigned her ...

Health Plan Cancellation Ends Your COBRA Obligation

04/01/2002

Q. Our business recently was forced to implement layoffs—and most remaining employees walked off the job. All were given a COBRA notice, but only one chose to take the coverage. Since this was a group insurance policy and only one person will now be insured, the insurer is cancelling our policy. What's our responsibility to that ex-employee? —G.B., Texas

Job-bias complaints reach new high

04/01/2002
A rash of recession-induced layoffs in 2001 helped propel job discrimination complaints to their highest level in six years, according to new data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). ...

High court to weigh claims of 'disparate impact' by age

01/01/2002
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether workers who claim age discrimination can base their arguments on the fact that older workers at the company, as a group, were ...

Laying off the layoffs

01/01/2002
Layoffs that aren't handled well can trigger lawsuits, particularly if workers feel they weren't treated fairly. But a recent survey shows that businesses are taking many steps to ease the impact. ...