[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 3]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR639.1]

[Page 353-354]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
 CHAPTER V--EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 639--WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 639.1  Purpose and scope.

    (a) Purpose of WARN. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (WARN or the Act) provides protection to workers, their 
families and communities by requiring employers to provide notification 
60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs. Advance 
notice provides workers and their families some transition time to 
adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain 
alternative jobs and, if necessary, to enter skill training or 
retraining that will allow these workers to successfully compete in the 
job market. WARN also provides for notice to State dislocated worker 
units so that dislocated worker assistance can be promptly provided.
    (b) Scope of these regulations. These regulations establish basic 
definitions and rules for giving notice, implementing the provisions of 
WARN. The Department's objective is to establish clear principles and 
broad guidelines which can be applied in specific circumstances. 
However, the Department recognizes that Federal rulemaking cannot 
address the multitude of industry and company-specific situations in 
which advance notice will be given.
    (c) Notice encouraged where not required. Section 7 of the Act 
states:

It is the sense of Congress that an employer who is not required to 
comply with the notice requirements of section 3 should, to the extent 
possible, provide notice to its employees about a proposal to close a 
plant or permanently reduce its workforce.

    (d) WARN enforcement. Enforcement of WARN will be through the 
courts, as provided in section 5 of the statute. Employees, their 
representatives and units of local government may initiate civil actions 
against employers believed to be in violation of Sec. 3 of the Act. The 
Department of Labor has no legal standing in any enforcement action and, 
therefore, will not be in a position to issue advisory opinions of 
specific cases. The Department will provide assistance in understanding 
these regulations and may revise them from time to time as may be 
necessary.
    (e) Notice in ambiguous situations. It is civically desirable and it 
would appear to be good business practice for an employer to provide 
advance notice to its workers or unions, local government and the State 
when terminating a significant number of employees. In practical terms, 
there are some questions and ambiguities of interpretation inherent in 
the application of WARN to business practices in the market economy that 
cannot be addressed in these regulations. It is therefore prudent for 
employers to weigh the desirability of advance notice against the 
possibility of expensive and time-consuming litigation to resolve 
disputes where notice has not been given. The Department encourages 
employers to give notice in all circumstances.
    (f) Coordination with job placement and retraining programs. The 
Department, through these regulations and through the Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Program (TAA) and Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment 
Assistance Act (EDWAA) regulations, encourages maximum coordination of 
the actions and activities of these programs to assure

[[Page 354]]

that the negative impact of dislocation on workers is lessened to the 
extent possible. By providing for notice to the State dislocated worker 
unit, WARN notice begins the process of assisting workers who will be 
dislocated.
    (g) WARN not to supersede other laws and contracts. The provisions 
of WARN do not supersede any laws or collective bargaining agreements 
that provide for additional notice or additional rights and remedies. If 
such law or agreement provides for a longer notice period, WARN notice 
shall run concurrently with that additional notice period. Collective 
bargaining agreements may be used to clarify or amplify the terms and 
conditions of WARN, but may not reduce WARN rights.