Utility of WARN notices

December 11, 2008
Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

In times like these, what do you think of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, commonly called the WARN Act or WARN notices?

The federal law was passed in 1988 to give employees 60 days’ notice of an impending layoff, and now it’s getting a workout as companies unload busloads of people.

Broadly speaking, the law applies to companies with at least 100 employees that plan to lay off at least 50 employees at a particular site. Both hourly and salaried workers are covered.

Is the law burdensome to employers? Should employers be required to give even longer notices?

ADVERTISEMENT
  • Educated WorkerDecember 11, 2008 7:56 PM
    Yes it is burdensome as the speed of business is different today. There is some feeling out there that companies like layoffs. That is not true. Companies are run by people who understand having bills to pay and mouths to feed. But those same people also understand 1) no cash in the company checking account and 2) damage frequently caused by workers on the way out (recall Marion). It's a good idea, but it cannot always be implemented. The Chicago Republic factory is the perfect example. The bank shut off cash. Banks do that, and the do it with little warning. It's illegal to print money so what did the employees expect? When there is no cash, the is no cash.

    Broader scaled, 60 days is a long time in many companies which have a selling to delivery cycle of less than 60 days. If that cycle is shorter than 60 days, you don't have complete control of need for labor because you don't know demand. It has nothing to do with bad management, it has to do with trickle down impact from customers.

    Unfortunately, as we move toward socialism, we will get more of this burdensome stuff thrown at business. All the more reason to look at never hiring people as regular employees.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • NickDecember 12, 2008 3:05 PM
    No one likes to fire people, but it is just good business to make the transition as painless as possible.

    While giving 60 days notice is not always possible, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has discretion to waive this period when 60 days worth of severance compensation is offered in exchange for advanced notice.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

Post a comment to this blog

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

ADVANCED SEARCH
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

  1. First, the Athenaeum is going to have to get past the hurdle with the Lockerbie residents and the agreement that the parcel would be residential. Second, and in my opinion, this prime piece of property should include parking, PLUS, a black box theater(s), some market rate and affordable artist housing and a plan to renovate and reconfigure the second story theater. I would negotiate to add the DeHaan property surface parking lot into the development mix, place a one story surface parking garage on the DeHaan lot on the street level (for the Dehaan tenants use during the daytime) and add a second story to the garage that would become an addition to the current second story theater and then change the direction of the theater by moving the stage across the alley and on top of the DeHaan lot parking. You can add all the stage elements that are currently missing from the Athenaeum stage to make it more attractive for use by Ballet, Opera and traveling productions. Plus, the theater changes would probably help solve some of the soundproofing issues. Alas,it does not seem to be a part of the strategic plan to conduct a study to determine best use of the property. Seems like the current plan is a quick and easy move that ignores the property best use/potential and any strategic property planning for the effect on future generations.

  2. I recall that MSA's pilings are still in the ground and hard to remove. It’s not likely any proposal will include significant underground construction/parking because of this. Start adding 2 floors of retail, 8 floors of parking and 5-10 floors of possible hotel, and/or 10-20 floors of residential, and you are at 30 floors already with possible expansion of all the uses. But then again I could be wrong.

  3. Accoriding to their website there is no deadline to the Do Not Call list. What is this article referring to??

  4. On what planet are they entitled to this largesse from the stockholders? These people make multi-million dollar salaries: Pay for your own personal travel.

  5. It matters because they're already paid enormously fat salaries: Pay for your own personal travel. Being "taxed on it" isn't a valid excuse--so what? They're still being gifted a raft of luxury perks from somebody else's money on top of an enormous, lavish salary.

ADVERTISEMENT