Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988

So that's been under debate.

The company has claimed that they will continue to pay workers severance pay until October, which would keep them in compliance with the Warren Act.

But workers like a horror are receiving roughly half of their previous paychecks.

So, you know, paychecks that used to be nine hundred or a thousand dollars are now much closer to four hundred or five hundred dollars a week.

So that payment will continue for two months until October, which the company is claiming will keep them in compliance with the Warren Act.

On top of that, they have made a plant closure agreement with the union that will give the workers about one to four weeks of additional severance, depending on how long they worked there.

But for workers who work more than 10 years at Tyson, they're only receiving four weeks of severance on top of the federally mandated severance pay that they're receiving due to the Warren Act.

Mentioned the union agreement.

An investigation is underway at Trinity Health in Livonia after the health corporation announced plans to cut 557 IT jobs and outsource its technology services.

Trinity Health confirmed on Friday it will move forward with the layoffs, which also prompted an investigation into a possible Warren Act violation.

Federal law requires certain employers to give workers at least 60 days written notice before a mass layoff or closing.

As a result, Trinity Health employees may be entitled to 60 days of severance pay and benefits.

So that's been uh, under debate.

The company has claimed uh, that they will continue to pay workers uh, severance pay until October which would keep them in compliance with the WARN Act.

But workers like Ohoro are receiving roughly half uh, of their previous paycheck so um, you know paychecks that used to be 900 or $1,000 are now much closer to 400 or $500 a week.

Um, so that payment will continue for two months until October which the company is claiming will keep them in compliance with the Warn Act.

On top of that they have made a, a plant closure agreement with the union that will give the workers about one to four weeks of additional severance depending on how long they worked there.

But for workers who worked more than 10 years at Tyson, they're only receiving four weeks of severance on top of the federally mandated uh, severance pay that they're receiving uh, due to the WARN Act

Mentioned the union agreement.

What has been the role of the union uh, in this situation and have they had meetings with the workers before signing such agreements?

The violation.

They failed to give workers the required 60 days notice before layoffs under the WARN Act.

Right.

And the WARN Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, is designed specifically to protect employees from abrupt mass layoffs or plant closings.

But a $3.8 million fine for an administrative timeline failure is just devastating.

And if you scour the annual SEC reports across the hospitality industry right now, they are universally highlighting intense scrutiny regarding minimum wage compliance, tip credit calculations, and regulations stemming from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE regarding employment eligibility.

Also, the California laws are much more favorable to employees usually than federal law strongly towards State law as much as we can or California law

So we've heard in the news about some strikes lately I think the school districts in a couple of different places had strikes and when they came out They talked about maybe the need to lay off other folks and then make reference to sending out notices under the Warren Act and What is the WARN Act?

The WARN Act, Jeff, is a additional protection that applies in some layoffs, but not all layoffs.

And so the WARN Act is usually going to apply to larger layoffs, larger companies or employers of not sort of a mom and pop small business, but someone with dozens and dozens or hundreds of employees.

And what it says is, hey, if we're going to be closing down this factory and laying off the whole factory, if we're going to be laying off a ton of people in one location, we need to give notice because it's going to affect the local economy there.

And that's one of the policies behind the law.

Absolutely.

Best of luck for you.

One of the more innovative states we've seen is Connecticut, which in May 2026 passed SB5 or Public Act 26-15.

That law regulates the use of automated employment-related decision-making technology As of October 1, 2026, any employer that executes a reduction in force qualifying as a mass layoff under the federal WARN Act must provide written notice to the Connecticut Department of Labor disclosing whether the employer's use of AI or other technology was a contributing factor to the reduction in force.

California's SB 947 targets the back end of employment, not just hiring.

Most laws focus on screening and hiring.