The abrupt and unceremonious way that thousands of Twitter employees got laid off last week was a spectacle.
But it was also a helpful reminder that while employers can get rid of many workers at will (and with zero graciousness), employees are not without rights when they are laid off en masse.
Here’s a quick primer on what employees need to know.
For a plant closing or a mass layoff, you should get at least 60 days notice, under the federal Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Some states may require more notice – New York, for instance, requires 90 days. And states also may set stricter standards than the federal law, such as requiring employers with fewer workers to comply with the WARN Act.
If an employer is found to have violated the WARN Act, in addition to paying penalties to the state, it will be required to pay out up to 60 days (or more, depending on the state requirement) of back wages and benefits to those laid off, depending on how many days’ notice the company actually gave.
“Notice” in this instance means notifying the community at large but also each individual who will be laid off, said employment attorney Michael DuPont, managing shareholder at the Minnesota-based law firm Wagner, Falconer & Judd.
If a company lays you off abruptly, it may be found to have complied with the WARN Act so long as the effective date of your layoff is at least 60 days after the day you got notice that you’re being...
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