Making Do With Less (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
is closed). Under the proposed legislation, employers may be required to provide up to two weeks of job-pro- tected leave of full pay and up to 10 weeks of leave of partial pay to affected employees. In the event these protections go into effect, deciding how to address lack of work and potential business shut-downs may become more legally complex. Given the changing landscape, it’s particularly important for business own- ers and executives to be strategic and proactive about potential changes to their workforce in the coming days and weeks. Our feedback below is based on the status of the employment laws as it stands today. Frequently Asked Questions Here are responses to Frequently Asked Questions that address business owners’ concerns about how they will make do with less budget to support employees. Please note that business situations vary and the answers for your situation are often fact-specific. We hope the following FAQs address questions that are relevant and pressing to your business, but they are only general legal information. 1. What are the legal considerations if I need to lay-off a group of employees? Depending on the size of your company, the number of employees being laid off, and the location of the layoff, notice obligations under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and state equivalents may be triggered. For example, in New York, employers with 50 or more full-time workers may need to report a loss of employment of 25 employees and give those employees and the gov- ernment at least 90 days’ notice of the termination (i.e., continue to pay employees during that time). Although some exemptions (such as unforeseen business circum- stances) may apply in light of COVID-19, and some tem- porary work stoppages may not require WARN notice, the WARN laws are highly technical and the potential penal- ties are steep, so we recommend consulting with employ- ment counsel on your particular situation before terminat- ing multiple employees at once. Other legal considerations include the potential payout of sick and/or vacation hours, how layoffs may affect com- pany (and the employees’) benefits and what legal obliga- tions are triggered under the benefits plans and relevant laws (such as COBRA). The timing of paying employees their final paychecks, must comply with the applicable state law. In addition, to the extent you offer a severance in exchange for a release to laid off workers, there may be certain additional notice requirements under the Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act. 2. Business is down. To avoid a layoff, can I just reduce everyone’s hours? For employees not entitled to overtime (including those who are paid on an hourly basis), general-
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www.boardconvertingnews.com
March 30, 2020
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