Does the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) apply to seasonal layoffs?
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If you have set out in advance that the relationship is going to be of a temporary nature—for example, if you’re a seasonal ski resort—your annual layoff wouldn’t be considered a mass layoff or a plant closing for federal WARN purposes. This is just the natural cycle of the business. These employees know in advance what their employment tenure will be—they were, in effect, given notice when they were hired. Typically, federal WARN doesn’t apply in these kinds of situations. Employers who face this issue will also want to confirm that state WARN statutes do not contain different requirements.—Trey Wichmann
Trey Wichmann is an associate with the San Francisco office of law firm Winston & Strawn.