Sykes, Brown, Budzinski, Trone Introduce Fair Warning Act To Hold Employers Accountable, Give Workers More Notice
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Representative David Trone (MD-06) and Representative Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) introduced the bicameral Fair Warning Act of 2023, legislation to update the WARN Act and hold employers accountable while also giving workers and communities the notice they need to best prepare for and recover from employer decisions that cost them their jobs.
“Losing a job is tough enough, but it’s made even worse when large corporations ignore the letter of the law and refuse to give hard-working Ohioans and our communities the advance notice they need to prepare for what comes next. People in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District deserve transparency, which is why I’m introducing the Fair Warning Act,” said Rep. Sykes. “The Fair Warning Act holds employers accountable and empowers working people by ensuring workers and their families get the notice they need to prepare and respond to layoffs. As a member of the Congressional Labor Caucus, I’ll always stand with working people and families in our communities by working to prevent layoffs, create better-paying jobs and fight for better worker protections.”
“More than three decades ago, our country passed the WARN Act, setting rules requiring notifications of layoffs and closures in some circumstances. But in too many cases, it doesn’t apply, or companies ignore the rules, and Ohio workers get left behind,” said Sen. Brown. “That’s why we’re introducing the Fair Warning Act to hold employers accountable and give workers, families, and communities the notice they need to better prepare for and recover from these layoffs. We cannot accept that the future of work means lower pay, less job security, and fewer workplace protections.”
“When Verso abruptly closed Luke Mill a few years ago, they blindsided employees and sent a shock wave through the town of Luke and our entire state,” said Rep. Trone, a member of the Congressional Labor Caucus. “Workers built our country to what it is today, and they deserve better than losing their jobs with what feels like no warning. I’m committed to working in Congress to hold companies accountable, requiring them to treat employees with the respect they earned. I’m proud to work with Representatives Sykes and Budzinski on this legislation to do just that.”
“Earlier this year, Akorn Pharmaceuticals left working families high and dry when they violated the WARN Act with a surprise closure of their Decatur facility. While I’m glad that a new employer has taken over the facility, it’s clear that we need to do more to protect workers and their families from unexpected layoffs,” said Rep. Budzinski. “I’m proud to be leading bicameral legislation with Senator Sherrod Brown and Representatives Emilia Sykes and David Trone to strengthen advance notice requirements and ensure that companies are treating working people with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Too often, companies close down and barely give their workers or the broader community notice. Workers and their families deserve better than a last-minute email letting them know they’re losing their job. While the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, established in 1988, requires certain companies to provide full-time employees with WARN notices in some circumstances, in too many cases, existing law doesn’t apply, or companies fail to follow the rules, and workers get left behind.
The Fair Warning Act of 2023 would update current law by:
- Updating the statute so the requirements under the law apply to any business that employs 50 or more employees or has an annual payroll of $2 million;
- Updating definitions to ensure the legislation also covers an employer’s affiliate if they violate the WARN Act;
- Closing loopholes in notification requirements by expanding the cases where notification is required and including both full-time and part-time employees in thresholds;
- Increasing the lead-time for mass layoff or site closure notifications from 60 days’ notice to 90 days’ notice to provide workers, their families, and the community with advance notice;
- Requiring the state to establish a Rapid Response committee and an individual to lead that committee within 20 days of a WARN notice being issued so that affected employees can quickly get the training and other support services they need to prepare for their job loss;
- Strengthening enforcement provisions under the law to enhance compliance;
- Protecting employees’ rights to bring suit if their employer violates their WARN Act rights; and
- Requiring the Department of Labor to create and make public a searchable database of all WARN notices.
After Republic Steel abruptly announced August 10, 2023 it would indefinitely idle operations at its Canton facility, Rep. Sykes wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor asking the Department to determine if Republic Steel’s action violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act’s requirement that employees receive written notice 60 days before the date of a mass layoff or plant closing if certain conditions are met. On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor responded to Rep. Sykes’ letter, indicating that Republic Steel filed a WARN notice on August 10, 2023, for the Canton, Ohio location, but that, “while the Department can provide guidance and information about the WARN Act, it has neither investigative nor enforcement authority under the WARN Act.” The Fair Warning Act would strengthen enforcement provisions under the law to enhance compliance, thus ensuring better protection of workers’ rights.
Read the bill text below.