New Jersey has enacted its own version of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act).More specifically, the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (The New Jersey WARN Act or New Jersey WARN) requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees to provide 60 days' notice to employees affected by a mass layoff, transfer of operations, termination of employment, or termination of operations (NJ Stat. Sec. 34:21-1 et seq.). The transfer or termination of operations is similar to a plant closing under federal law.
While New Jersey WARN tracks the federal law in some ways, very important differences are described in greater detail below:
• New Jersey WARN imposes greater penalties on employers for violations of the law.
• New Jersey WARN does not have an express sale of business exception, does not include a faltering business or unforeseen business circumstances exception, and provides a narrower natural disaster exception than federal law.
• A New Jersey WARN notice must contain more information than a federal WARN Act notice.
• Notice must be provided to more parties than under federal law.
• New Jersey WARN makes no exception for layoffs that follow the closing of a temporary facility or the completion of a specific project.
• The law does not contain an express lockout or strike exception.
• New Jersey WARN does not provide a good-faith defense to employers that reasonably believe that they complied with the law.
• New Jersey WARN may require notice in short-term layoff and transfer offer situations.
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Download Now Legal tip. Since many of New Jersey WARN's terms and parameters are untested through court cases, employers would be wise to contact a ...