united-states employment workplace
Would staggered layoffs circumvent the WARN Act&#39;s protection against mass layoffs?
<p>The U.S. federal <a href="https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/termination/plantclosings" rel="noreferrer">Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN)</a> states that employers with 100 or more employees must provide at least 60 days advance notice before a mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees.</p>
<p>Are there any protections against an employer circumventing the WARN act by staggering layoffs over multiple days? For example, could an employer lay off 200 people without notice by laying off 40 employees each day for a week?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Are there any protections against an employer circumventing the WARN
act by staggering layoffs over multiple days? For example, could an
employer lay off 200 people without notice by laying off 40 employees
each day for a week?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The WARN Act's definition of layoffs measures the number of employees laid off in &quot;any 30-day period&quot;. <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title29/chapter23&amp;edition=prelim" rel="noreferrer">29 U.S.C. § 2101</a>.</p>
<p>So, to lay off 200 people without notice, it would have to stagger it at 40 people a month over five months, not over five days.</p>
