MA H2127

Requires employers to provide 60 days written notice to the commissioner before plant closings, partial closings, or mass layoffs

Defines "mass layoff" as workforce reduction within 30 days affecting at least 25 workers and 25% of workforce, or at least 200 workers, within a single municipality or employment site

Employers who fail to provide required notice are liable to affected employees for back pay (at average rate from last 3 years or final rate, whichever is higher), plus the value of lost benefits including medical expenses

Liability is calculated for the violation period up to maximum of 60 days or one-half the employee's tenure, whichever is smaller

Exemptions include physical calamities, acts of war, and situations where employers were actively seeking capital or business that would have avoided the layoff and reasonably believed notice would preclude obtaining needed funding