New Jersey has amended its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (NJ-WARN Act), in terms of covered employers and notice requirements, and introducing a statutory severance pay entitlement independent of any notice requirements. As background, the existing federal WARN Act imposes minimum notification requirements in the event of certain collective dismissals and generally applies to employers in the private sector with 100 or more employees (excluding certain part-time employees), covering both hourly and salaried workers (including management and supervisory staff), and requires that companies provide at least 60 days' advance written notice (or pay in lieu) in the event of a plant closure or mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single employment site. Some states have enacted “mini-WARN acts,” which are state laws that provide lower thresholds for a triggering event, additional notice requirements or other benefits for affected employees; however, no state has required employers to provide employer-paid severance in the event of a triggering event until New Jersey’s amended NJ-WARN Act became effective on April 10, 2023. (Note, Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, also has such a mandate.)
Whether New Jersey’s mandate for employer-paid severance pay will remain the exception or begin a new trend remains to be seen. Regardless, employers with operations in New Jersey should be aware of the new requirements and their implications if considering a layoff of New Jersey employees.
