Former Indeed Employees in Austin May Have a Lawsuit
On Monday, May 13, 2024, the CEO of Indeed announced that the company was cutting 1,000 employees, including people in Austin, Texas. This year’s cuts followed the previous year’s cuts of over 2,000 employees. The CEO states that last year’s cuts were due to a decrease in the job market and demand for its technology, and this year’s cuts are to simplify the organization. Employees were notified that they were being laid off from the company starting the same day Indeed made the announcement. With the arbitrary manner in which Indeed laid off its employees, the company may not be in compliance with the WARN Act and may face significant litigation from former employees.
What is the WARN Act?
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is an act intended to protect employees, their families, and communities by providing advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the WARN Act requires businesses to provide notice in the form of a written notice letter a minimum of 60 days before a plant closure or mass layoff. The WARN Act also requires employers to notify local government officials and the workforce development system of upcoming layoffs. The notice is meant to give affected employees and their families time to plan for alternative employment opportunities or to file for potential unemployment.
How Does the WARN Act Help Workers?
In addition to providing advanced notice for employees to prepare for a future layoff, the WARN Act also helps workers find new jobs or ways to upskill themselves for different careers. The U.S. Department of Labor provides several services to help workers deal with the effects of layoffs and plant closures. One such service is the State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit, which provides on-site information to affected workers and ways for them to increase their skill sets. The Rapid Response Unit’s outplacement services include providing labor market information, job search and placement assistance, on-the-job training, classroom training, entrepreneurial training, and basic and remedial education.
When Does the Warn Act Apply?
There are several instances where the WARN Act applies to a company. One instance in which organizations must adhere to the WARN Act is if they have over 100 full-time employees. If your organization has less than 100 full-time employees, you do not have to comply with the WARN Act. Additionally, the WARN Act applies to publicly and privately held companies. Moreover, the act applies to all organizations, regardless of whether they are for-profit or not-for-profit. The WARN Act also requires that a WARN notice be given if there is a plant closing or a mass layoff.
What is Considered a Plant Closing and a Mass Layoff Under the WARN Act?
The U.S. Department of Labor specifies what a plant closing and a mass layoff are under the WARN Act because they could mean different things to different organizations. Under the WARN Act, a plant closing is when one or more facilities or operating units within an employment site are shutting down and will result in 50 or more employees losing their jobs during a 30-day period. Furthermore, the WARN Act states that a mass layoff is when there will be an employment loss at the employment site during any 30-day period for 500 or more employees or for 50-499 employees if they make up at least 33% of the employer’s active workforce. For both plant closings and mass layoffs, the WARN Act excludes employees who have worked less than six months in the last 12 months or employees who work less than 20 hours a week on average from the total count of employees losing their jobs.
When Don’t WARN Act Notices Apply?
The WARN Act only applies to organizations where employees will be impacted by a “loss of employment.” As stated by the U.S. Department of Labor, an employment loss does not occur if the plant closing was a temporary facility or if the closing or mass layoff is due to the completion of a project. The WARN Act also does not apply if an employee refuses or turns down an offer to transfer to a different work location that is within a reasonable commuting distance. Additionally, the WARN Act does not apply if an employee receives and accepts a transfer to a different work location outside of the reasonable commuting distance within 30 days after the job is offered or after the plant closing or mass layoff.
It also does not apply to termination of an individual after an on-the-job injury or retaliatory firing situations. Speak to either a workplace injury attorney or an employment law attorney for these issues. They are covered by entirely different laws.
Understand Your Rights
If you believe your employer has violated the WARN Act by closing a plant or carrying out a mass layoff without providing the required notices at least 60 days in advance, an employment law attorney to discuss your rights. Don’t know one? Let us get you connected.
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