Often times employees are unaware of their rights under the law. When it comes to mass lay-offs certain employers must abide by specific rules and notice procedures provided for in the WARN act. Often times employers violate these rules and the employees never even knew they had rights to enforce. Lutfi Law, P.A. fights for your rights as a former employee. If you believe you may have a case contact our office for a case evaluation. 321-421-6697. We fight for your employment law cases in Melbourne, Florida, Cocoa, FL, Cocoa Beach, Florida, Merritt Island, Florida, Viera, Florida, Palm Bay, Florida, Brevard County, and throughout the state of Florida.
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER WARN
You must receive a written notice 60 days before the date of a mass layoff or plant closing if you meet the conditions discussed in this brochure. If your employer does not give you the required notice, you may be able to seek damages for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days, depending on how many days' notice you actually received. Please refer to the following information to help you understand when WARN applies to the circumstances of your job loss.
EMPLOYEES PROTECTED BY WARN
You are protected by WARN if your company fits the following profile:
• It is a business with 100 or more full-time workers (not counting work- ers who have less than 6 months on the job and workers who work less than 20 hours per week), or employs 100 or more workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours a week, and is a private for prof- it business, private non-profit organization, or quasi-public entity separately organized from the regular government.
Workers protected by WARN may be hourly or salaried workers, including managerial and supervisory employees.
You may be protected by WARN if your job loss occurs as part of:
• A plant closing—where your employer shuts down a
facilityor operating unit(see glossary) within a single site of employment and lays off at least 50 full-time workers;
• A mass layoff—where your employer lays off either between 50 and 499 full-time workers at a single site of employment and that number is 33% of the number of full-time workers at the sin- gle site of employment; or
• A situation where your employer(see glossary) lays off 500 or more full-time workers at a single site of employment.
EMPLOYEES NOT PROTECTED BY WARN
You are not protected by the WARN Act if you are considered any of the following:
• Strikers, or workers who have been locked out in a labor dispute;
• Workers working on temporary projects or facilities of the business
who clearly understand the temporary nature of the work when hired;
• Business partners, consultants, or contract employees assigned to the business but who have a separate employment relationship with another employer and are paid by that other employer, or who are self- employed; and
• Regular federal, state, or local government employees.
RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF A LAYOFF OR PLANT CLOSING
With some exceptions described later, you must receive a written notice 60 calendar days before the layoff or plant closing. You are entitled to receive this notice even if you are a part-time worker (see glossary and FAQs) or you work at another site and will lose your job due to this layoff or plant closing.
WHAT THE NOTICE MUST CONTAIN
The notice you receive from your employer must include the following information:
• An explanation of whether the layoff or closing is permanent or temporary of 6 months or less;
• The date of layoff or closing and the date of your separation (Your employer has some leeway in predicting the dates on which workers
will be separated. Your employer may give you notice that you will be separated within a two-week, or 14-day, period after a certain date. If your employer chooses to use a 14-day period, he must give you notice 60 days before the first day of the 14-day period.);
• An explanation of bumping rights), if they exist; and
• Name and contact information for a person in the company who can
provide additional information.
There are two situations in which you may not receive an individual 60-day written notice from your employer even though WARN applies. The first situation is when a union represents you. In that case, your employer must give 60 days' written notice to the union. It is your union's decision how and when to give you notice. The second situation is when there is a complex system of bumping rights. This situation will not arise often since most complex seniority systems are created under collective bargaining agreements and the union is the party required to be notified. If there is a complex seniority/bumping system and no union is involved, your employer must make a good faith effort to determine who will actually lose their job as the result of the seniority system. However, your employer is not required to predict exactly who will lose a job as a result of a complex bumping system. If your employer cannot exactly predict who will lose their job as a result of a complex bumping system, your employer must give notice to the person whose job is being eliminated even though that person may later bump another worker.
HELP IS AVAILABLE IF YOU FEEL YOUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED
If you think that you may have a claim under WARN, or any other area of Florida or Federal Employment law contact our Melbourne, Florida law firm for a case evaluation.
This information should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. You are urged to consult competent counsel concerning your particular situation and any specific legal questions you may have.
YOUR RIGHTS UNDER WARN
You must receive a written notice 60 days before the date of a mass layoff or plant closing if you meet the conditions discussed in this brochure. If your employer does not give you the required notice, you may be able to seek damages for back pay and benefits for up to 60 days, depending on how many days' notice you actually received. Please refer to the following information to help you understand when WARN applies to the circumstances of your job loss.
EMPLOYEES PROTECTED BY WARN
You are protected by WARN if your company fits the following profile:
• It is a business with 100 or more full-time workers (not counting work- ers who have less than 6 months on the job and workers who work less than 20 hours per week), or employs 100 or more workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours a week, and is a private for prof- it business, private non-profit organization, or quasi-public entity separately organized from the regular government.
Workers protected by WARN may be hourly or salaried workers, including managerial and supervisory employees.
You may be protected by WARN if your job loss occurs as part of:
• A plant closing—where your employer shuts down a
facilityor operating unit(see glossary) within a single site of employment and lays off at least 50 full-time workers;
• A mass layoff—where your employer lays off either between 50 and 499 full-time workers at a single site of employment and that number is 33% of the number of full-time workers at the sin- gle site of employment; or
• A situation where your employer(see glossary) lays off 500 or more full-time workers at a single site of employment.
EMPLOYEES NOT PROTECTED BY WARN
You are not protected by the WARN Act if you are considered any of the following:
• Strikers, or workers who have been locked out in a labor dispute;
• Workers working on temporary projects or facilities of the business
who clearly understand the temporary nature of the work when hired;
• Business partners, consultants, or contract employees assigned to the business but who have a separate employment relationship with another employer and are paid by that other employer, or who are self- employed; and
• Regular federal, state, or local government employees.
RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF A LAYOFF OR PLANT CLOSING
With some exceptions described later, you must receive a written notice 60 calendar days before the layoff or plant closing. You are entitled to receive this notice even if you are a part-time worker (see glossary and FAQs) or you work at another site and will lose your job due to this layoff or plant closing.
WHAT THE NOTICE MUST CONTAIN
The notice you receive from your employer must include the following information:
• An explanation of whether the layoff or closing is permanent or temporary of 6 months or less;
• The date of layoff or closing and the date of your separation (Your employer has some leeway in predicting the dates on which workers
will be separated. Your employer may give you notice that you will be separated within a two-week, or 14-day, period after a certain date. If your employer chooses to use a 14-day period, he must give you notice 60 days before the first day of the 14-day period.);
• An explanation of bumping rights), if they exist; and
• Name and contact information for a person in the company who can
provide additional information.
There are two situations in which you may not receive an individual 60-day written notice from your employer even though WARN applies. The first situation is when a union represents you. In that case, your employer must give 60 days' written notice to the union. It is your union's decision how and when to give you notice. The second situation is when there is a complex system of bumping rights. This situation will not arise often since most complex seniority systems are created under collective bargaining agreements and the union is the party required to be notified. If there is a complex seniority/bumping system and no union is involved, your employer must make a good faith effort to determine who will actually lose their job as the result of the seniority system. However, your employer is not required to predict exactly who will lose a job as a result of a complex bumping system. If your employer cannot exactly predict who will lose their job as a result of a complex bumping system, your employer must give notice to the person whose job is being eliminated even though that person may later bump another worker.
HELP IS AVAILABLE IF YOU FEEL YOUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED
If you think that you may have a claim under WARN, or any other area of Florida or Federal Employment law contact our Melbourne, Florida law firm for a case evaluation.
This information should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. You are urged to consult competent counsel concerning your particular situation and any specific legal questions you may have.
The materials on this Web site have been prepared by Lutfi Law, P.A. for information purposes only and are not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Users of this web site should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.
Representing clients in labor and employment law in Brevard County and Palm Beach County Florida.
Representing clients in labor and employment law in Brevard County and Palm Beach County Florida.