New York's WARN Act

On September 2, 2008, New York's Governor Paterson signed a new law with respect to plant closings and mass layoffs. The new law, known as the State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“S-WARN”), requires that private employers with 50 or more workers must notify their employees and the Department of Labor at least 90 days prior to a plant closing or mass layoff. New York businesses that fail to file an S-WARN notice in the allotted time period will be subject to penalties of up to $500 per day for each violation. In addition, the new law provides the Commissioner of Labor with authority to order relief, including back wages and unpaid medical benefits, for employees who don't receive the required notice.

The S-WARN Act is more restrictive than its Federal equivalent which applies to companies that employ 100 or more workers and requires only 60 days notice. Accordingly, it supplants the Federal law and is now the new standard for compliance in New York.