In an adversary proceeding before the federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, the court considered a parent company's liability for its subsidiary's violations of the WARN Act. In Cruz v. HMR Foods Holding, LP (In re HMR Foods Holding, LP), 602 B.R. 855 (Bankr. D. Del. 2019), the court recognized that a parent company may be liable where the two companies' "have become 'so entangled with [one another's] affairs' that the separate companies ... [are] but divisions or departments of a single enterprise." To assist in this determination, the court applied the five-factor balancing test adopted by the 3rd Circuit. Invoking the standards set forth in the Twombly and Iqbal cases, the court found that the plaintiffs' complaint failed to plead sufficient facts to establish a claim against the parent corporation under the single employer doctrine.
WARN Act News
Published By:
- Sugar Law Center For Economic & Social Justice
4605 Cass Ave., 2nd Floor Detroit, MI. 48201
Phone: (313) 993-4505 Fax: (313) 887-8470
Email: [email protected]
About Us:
The Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice is a national, non-profit organization, advocating for working people and their communities. We work for economic and social justice by binding corporations and government to their legal and ethical responsibilities. The Sugar Law Center has been at the forefront of WARN Act litigation since 1992. Together with our cooperating attorneys, the Sugar Law Center has represented thousands of workers in hundreds of WARN Act cases throughout the country.
The Sugar Law Center is affiliated with the National Lawyer's Guild.
Federal WARN Act Law:
State, Territory & Local Advance Notice Laws:
- California - Legislation
CAL. LABOR Code, Ch. 4, § 1400 et. seq. - Cleveland (City) - Ordinance
Clev. City Code, Ch. 38, § 396.03. ((*Requires businesses with buildings of 150,000 square feet or more of space to give 60 day advance notice to various city officials before vacating or abandoning the property). - Delaware - Legislation
Del. Code Ann., tit. 19, §1901 et. seq. - Hawaii - Legislation
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 394B-1 - Hawaii - Regulations
Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 12, Subtitle 6, Chapter 506 - Illinois - Legislation
820 ILL. COMP. STAT., 65/1 et. seq. - Illinois - Regulations
Illinois Administrative Code, Title 56, Ch. I, Subchapter b, Part 230 - Indiana - Legislation
(*No advance notification law. Under certain circumstances, notification to government officials is required when a company adopts a plan for dissolution, liquidation or withdrawal from the state). - Iowa - Legislation
Iowa Code § 84C.1 et. seq. (At Title III, Subtitle 2, Chapter 84C). - Kansas - Legislation
(*No advance notification law. Companies prohibited from reducing or ceasing operations for the purpose of avoiding state labor laws - notice to secretary of labor can reduced potential liability). - Maine - Legislation
Me. Rev. Stat., tit. 26, § 625-B - Maine - Regulations
Maine Code of Rules, 12 Dept. of Labor 170, Chapter 15 - Maryland - Legislation
Md. Code, Corp. & Assoc., § 1-101. (*Requires Maryland corporations to give 20 day advance notice to workers before filing dissolution papers). Md. Code, Lab.& Empl., § 11-301 et. seq. (*Suggests, but does not require, a 90 notice period by employers of 50 or more persons before workplace closings and relocations that affect 25 percent of the workforce of 15 or more employees, which is greater). - Maryland - Regulations
COMAR, § 09.33.02.04. (*Voluntary guidelines for advance notification of workers). COMAR, § 09.32.02.06. (*Requires employer to file, 48 hours in advance of the layoffs, notice with Secretary of Labor). - Massachusetts - Legislation
Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 149, §§ 179B, 182, & 183; and Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 151A, § 71A et. seq. - Michigan - Legislation
MCL 450.736. (*Only applies to employee-owned companies and compliance is purely voluntary) - Minnesota - Legislation
Minn. Stat. § 116L.976 (*Compliance is purely voluntary) - Montana - Legislation
Mont. Code Ann. § 39-2-1001 et. seq. (*Only applies to governmental facilities) - Nevada - Regulations
NAC, § 284.626. (*Applies only to state employees). - New Hampshire - Legislation
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann., § 275:1 et. seq. - New Jersey - Legislation
N.J.S.A. § 34:21-1 et. seq. - New Jersey - Regulations
New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 12, Chapter 40, - New York - Department of Labor, Counsel Opinion Letters
- New York - Legislation
N.Y. LAB. LAW § 860 et. seq. - New York - Regulations
New York Codes, Rules & Regulations, Title 12, Chapter 12, Part 921 - North Dakota - Regulations
N.D. Admin. Code § 27-03-02-01 et. seq. (*Requires advance notice to state officials prior to certain layoffs or separations). - Northern Marianas Islands - Regulations
NMIAC § 80-20.1-240. - Ohio - Legislation
Ohio Rev. Code § 4141.28. (*Not an advance notification statute. Requires notice to director at least three working days prior to certain layoffs or separations). - Oregon - Legislation
Or. Rev. Stat. § 285A.510 et. seq. (*Not an advance notice to workers statute. Provides regulations for giving notice under federal WARN Act). - Philadelphia (City) - Ordinance
Philadelphia City Code, Ch. 9, § 9-1500 et. seq. - Puerto Rico - Legislation
29 L.P.R.A. § 185a. (*Not an advance notification statute. Provides for severance pay based on years of service). - Tennessee - Legislation
Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-601 et. seq. (*Statute applies to smaller employers. Imposes administrative requirements, but not advance notice). - Vermont - Legislation
21 V.S.A. § 411 et. seq. - Vermont - Regulations
CVR 24-010-013 et. seq. - Virgin Islands - Legislation
Virgin Islands Code – Labor, Title 24, Chapter 18 § 471 et. seq. (*Provides advance notification and severance pay). - Wisconsin - Legislation
WIS. STAT. § 109.07 - Wisconsin - Regulations
Wisconsin Administrative Code, Department of Workforce Development, Chapter 279
Worksite Closings & Layoff Statistics:
- AFL-CIO Job Tracker
- Alabama WARN Act Notices
- Alaska WARN Act Notices
- Arizona WARN Act Notices
- Arkansas WARN Act Notices
- California WARN Act Notices
- Colorado WARN Act Notices
- Connecticut WARN Act Notices
- Delaware WARN Act Notices
- District of Columbia WARN Act Notifications
- Florida WARN Act Notices
- Georgia WARN Website Data
- Hawaii WARN Act Notices
- Idaho WARN Act Notices
- Illinois WARN Act Notices
- Indiana WARN Act Notices
- Iowa WARN Act Notices
- Kansas WARN Act Notices
- Kentucky WARN Act Notices
- Louisiana WARN Act Notices
- Maine Mass Layoff Statistics
- Maryland WARN Act Notices
- Massachusetts WARN Act Notices
- Michigan WARN Act Notices
- Minnesota WARN Act Notices
- Mississippi WARN Act Notices
- Missouri WARN Act Notices
- Montana WARN Act Notices
- Nebraska Layoff Reports
- Nevada WARN Act Notices
- New Hampshire WARN Act Notices
- New Jersey WARN Act Notices
- New Mexico WARN Act Notices
- New York WARN Act Notices
- North Carolina WARN Act Notices
- North Dakota WARN Act Notices
- Ohio WARN Act Notices
- Oklahoma WARN Act Notices
- Oregon WARN Act Notices
- Pennsylvania WARN Act Notices
- Rhode Island WARN Act Notices
- South Carolina WARN Act Notices
- South Dakota WARN Act Notices
- Tennessee WARN Act Notices
- Texas WARN Act Notices
- U.S. DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mass Layoffs
- Utah WARN Act Notices
- Vermont WARN Act Notices
- Virginia WARN Act Notices
- Washington State WARN Act Notices
- West Virginia WARN Act Notices
- Wisconsin WARN Act Notices
- Wyoming WARN Act Notices
Pending Legislation:
- Illinois General Assembly: Senate & House Technical Activity
HB 0078, HB 0785, SB 0474 and SB0975. Simple technical change to language of state WARN statute. - Illinois House of Representatives: Anti-Wage Theft State Contracts
HB 1653. Passed House of Representatives. Now pending in the State Senate where it has been referred to the Committee on Assignments. Bill would bar state contracts to companies found to have violated the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. - Illinois State Senate: Anti-Wage Theft State Contracts
SB 0163. Referred to Assignments Committee. Bill would bar state contracts to companies found to have violated the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. - Maryland: House of Representatives
House Bill 1018 has been introduced before the Maryland General Assembly. The bills would replace the state's voluntary guidelines and require 90 day advance notice. - Maryland: State Senate
Senate Bill 780 has been introduced before the Maryland General Assembly. The bills would replace the state's voluntary guidelines and require 90 day advance notice. - Ohio House of Representatives
HB 21. Referred to Commerce and Labor Committee. - Rhode Island House of Representatives
H 5769. Referred to House Small Business Committee. - U.S. House of Representatives: Fair Warning Act of 2019
H.R. 5205. Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor - U.S. Senate: Fair Warning Act of 2019
S.2938. Referred to Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
WARN Act Manuals:
WARN Act Resources:
- Alabama - Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Workforce Development Division
- Alaska - DOL, Job Center Network
- Arizona - Department of Economic Security, Workforce Investment Act Section
- Arkansas - Department of Workforce Services
- California - Employment Development Department
- Colorado - CDLE - Jobs and Training
- Connecticut - Department of Labor
- Delaware - Workforce Development
- Florida - Reemployment and Emergency Assistance Coordination Team
- Georgia - Governor's Office of Workforce Development, Rapid Response
- Hawaii - Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
- Idaho - WARN Job Seeker
- Illinois - WorkNet - Rapid Response Services
- Indiana - Department of Workforce Development
- Iowa - Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act - Rapid Response
- Kansas - Department of Commerce, Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
- Kentucky - Rapid Response
- Louisiana - Workforce Commission, Rapid Response
- Maine - Layoff Assistance
- Maryland - DLLR, Displaced Workers
- Massachusetts - Labor & Workforce Development
- Michigan - MDCD, WARN Act
- Minnesota - Dislocated Worker Program
- Mississippi - MDES - Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act Compliance Assistance Materials
- Missouri - Division of Workforce Development
- Montana - Workforce Investment Act Dislocated Worker Program
- Nebraska - Department of Labor
- Nevada - Employment Security Division Rapid Response
- New Hampshire - Employment Security
- New Jersey - Department of Labor and Workforce Development
- New Mexico - Rapid Response
- New York - Department of Labor
- North Carolina - Workforce Development
- North Dakota - Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
- Ohio - ODJFS Online
- Oklahoma - Employment Security Commission
- Oregon - Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
- Pennsylvania - Workforce Development, Layoff Notification
- Rhode Island - Department of Labor and Training
- South Carolina - SC Works
- South Dakota - Department of Labor and Regulation
- Tennessee - Department of Labor & Workforce Development
- Texas - Workforce Commission
- U.S. Department of Labor - WARN Act Compliance Assistance
- Utah - Department of Workforce Services
- Vermont - Department of Labor
- Virginia - Workforce Network
- Washington - Employment Security Department
- West Virginia - Department of Commerce
- Wisconsin - Dislocated Workers Program
- Wyoming - Department of Workforce Services