Takeaway: The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) has exceptions that protect employers that have to downsize unexpectedly. Yet, as this case shows, employers should not assume that these exceptions will automatically protect them, as a federal appeals court found that COVID-19 did not qualify as a natural disaster.
COVID-19 was not a natural disaster under the WARN Act and thus the natural disaster exemption from the law's notice requirements did not apply to an employer that said a layoff was due to a downturn caused by unexpected adverse impacts from the coronavirus, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided.
Oil producers hire US Well Services Inc. to perform hydraulic fracturing services known as fracking. When the price of oil drops below a commercially viable price, oil producers often discontinue work. In early March 2020, oil prices plummeted to historic lows due to a price conflict between Saudi Arabia and Russia. This effect was compounded by a decline in travel and decreased demand for oil during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, several of US Well's customers curtailed or completely shut down the fracking work US Well had been performing at multiple well sites in Texas. When crew members returned from the well sites to their respective headquarters after shutting down operations, they were immediately informed that they were laid off. The termination letter to employees stated that termination was due to unforeseeable business...
Alex Murdaugh's defense team and state prosecutors are engaged in a contentious dispute over evidence ahead of his murder retrial. The defense claims prosecutors are withholding complete cell pho...