Loading chat...
NY A07781
Bill
Status
4/10/2025
Primary Sponsor
Harry Bronson
Click for details
AI Summary
-
Expands WARN Act coverage by including part-time employees in worker counts and lowering thresholds: mass layoffs now defined as affecting 20+ employees (down from 25-250), and facility closings trigger notice at 20+ employees (down from 25)
-
Shortens timeframes throughout the law: mass layoffs exceeding 3 months (previously 6 months) constitute employment loss, and breaks in employment for transfer offers reduced from 6 months to 3 months
-
Eliminates employer defenses including the "actively seeking capital" exception and the "not reasonably foreseeable" exception; removes commissioner discretion to reduce penalties for good faith violations
-
Requires mandatory severance pay of one week per full year of employment for all employees experiencing plant closings, relocations, or mass layoffs, with an additional four weeks of severance if the employer fails to provide required notice
-
Authorizes the Attorney General to seek injunctions and take enforcement actions to compel employers to pay back wages and other liabilities owed to affected employees
Legislative Description
Removes the exclusion of part-time employees from certain definitions relating to employment and expanding the definition of employer; removes certain exclusions for employer notice requirements for the closing of a facility; removes the discretionary reduction of penalties for employers for certain acts or omissions concerning notice requirements for mass layoffs, relocations or employment loss; removes the maximum time period for determining back pay and other liabilities for certain employees who experience employment loss; allows the attorney general to take certain action to assist certain employees in receiving back pay and other liabilities; requires employers to pay severance to employees when there is a plant closing, relocation, or mass layoff.
Last Action
print number 7781a
2/24/2026