TOC
– Work Separations 
TOC
- Main
Layoffs - there is no general duty to rehire employees who have been laid off
WARN Act (federal law)
29 U.S.C.
§ 2101 et
seq.
covers
employers with 100 or more employees
shutdown
of an employment site - 50 or more employees
mass
layoff of 50-499 employees if that constitutes at least 33% of the workforce
if covered, an employer must give at least 60 days' advance notice of layoff, or else payment of wages in lieu of notice corresponding to that part of the 60 days' notice that was not given
Early Retirement/Voluntary Leave Incentives/Age Discrimination Issues
it must be a
voluntary program
employees
not targeted for layoff or otherwise threatened
vested
benefits not threatened
make sure
the offer is not aimed at older workers - do not condition it upon
age, but rather upon tenure or other theoretically neutral criteria
any
potential reduction in force should be based upon skill level, prior
evaluations, willingness to accept new assignments or training, and
other neutral, non-age related criteria (i.e., try not to use
seniority as a criterion that would give an older worker a higher
chance of being laid off)
any
employees accepting such an incentive should sign releases explaining
their rights under federal law - this is due to the federal Older
Workers Benefit Protection Act
give at
least 21 days for employees to have a chance to consult their attorneys
employers must give employees 7 days to rescind their acceptance of an early retirement incentive