In addition to the protection provided by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, the Hawaii Dislocated Workers Act protects employees from unexpected layoffs as a result of closings, divestitures, partial closings, and relocations where as few as 50 employees are affected. Few attorneys have as much experience and expertise as does Raisner Roupinian LLP’s WARN Practice Group, which has represented thousands of employees across the United States for over ten years.
Under Hawaii state law, certain industrial, commercial, or other business entities with 50 or more employees in the preceding 12-month period must provide at least 60 days’ advance notice of a divestiture, partial closing, closing, or relocation to each affected employee and to the director of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. This requirement also applies to the following scenarios that differ somewhat from a mass layoff:
Divestiture. A “divestiture” is the transfer of employees from one employer to another because of the sale, transfer, merger, bankruptcy, or other takeover or transaction of business interests that causes employees of original employer to become dislocated workers.
Partial closing. A “partial closing” is the permanent shutting down of a portion of operations within a company due to the sale, transfer, merger, or other business takeover or transaction that results in or may result in the termination of employees by the employer.
Closing. A “closing” is defined as the permanent shutting down of all operations in a company due to the sale, transfer, merger, other business takeover or transaction, bankruptcy, or other close of business transaction that results in or may result in employment losses for employees.
Hawaii also has laws regarding the employer’s obligations to pay severance to dislocated workers and penalties for an employer’s violation of the law.
For more information or to schedule a free telephone consultation with an experienced lawyer regarding a layoff violation in Hawaii, please Contact Us.