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In 2020, companies nationwide claimed that the global pandemic excused them from giving notice to employees of layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).
WARN requires employers of a certain size to give 60-day notice to employees prior to a mass layoff or plant closing. No notice is required, however, if the mass layoff or plant closing is due to any form of a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, or drought. Employers argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was a natural disaster, relieving them of WARN’s notice requirement prior to their layoffs and plant closings. Employers also argued that COVID-19 triggered WARN’s unforeseeable business circumstance exception, also relieving them of providing notice to employees about impending layoffs or closures. The unforeseeable business circumstance exception is triggered by a sudden, dramatic and unexpected action or condition outside the employer’s control.