Terminated employees of New Jersey companies with 50 or more employees may be entitled to one week of severance for each year of service, plus four additional weeks of pay if they did not receive 90 days’ written notice of termination.
This is thanks to the New Jersey WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act or “New Jersey WARN Law”). It is the strongest law protecting laid off employees in the nation. For example, in New Jersey an employee with 10 years of service is entitled to 14 weeks of pay if they do not get 90 days’ notice of termination. In comparison, the federal WARN Act provides only 60 days (about 8 weeks).
Your Rights Under the New Jersey WARN Act
Once a New Jersey employer operates in the state for at least three years and has 100 or more employees, their employees are covered by the New Jersey WARN Law. Employees become entitled to severance and notice pay after their first full year of employment.
Raisner Roupinian LLP attorneys advocate for New Jersey employees–with decades of experience. They represented 30,000 Toys R’ Us employees in that famous New Jersey shutdown. Our attorneys assist in drafting WARN statutes for governments, including New Jersey’s current law. They are proud to enforce New Jersey’s law in courts around the country. It is one of the strongest state WARN Acts in the nation.
Since the law’s enactment in 2023, we have brought successful lawsuits against nationally recognized companies such as Party City. Gail Lin, who is of counsel to Raisner Roupinian LLP, is licensed in the state of New Jersey. She has more than 15 years of experience in New Jersey federal courts.
Laid off New Jersey employees can seek legal representation to help them through a very difficult time. To learn more, please contact us.
Benefits of the New Jersey WARN Act
The New Jersey WARN Law provides more protection for employees who suffer mass layoffs and shutdowns than federal WARN or other state laws. That is because it provides mandatory severance even if your employer provides adequate advance notice of your termination. What happens, if the employer does not provide 90 days’ advance notice – the longest notice period in the country? – The employer pays 4 additional weeks of “notice pay.” It also pays for the value of your benefits for the length of the notice violation.
These additional protections of the New Jersey WARN law are also unique:
- Increased Notice Period: The New Jersey WARN Act now requires notice 90 days before the first termination due to a mass layoff, transfer, or termination of operations (versus 60 days under the federal WARN Act).
- Part-time employees included in headcount. A business with 100 or more employees must provide notice before a reduction in force. There is no distinction between full-time and part-time employees in determining whether a business meets the 100-headcount threshold.
- Broadened Employer Definition: The definition of an “employer” includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, or any person or group acting on behalf of an employer in relation to an employee. In addition to suing their company, employees may sue its corporate parent and even individual owners and managers when they do not receive 90 days’ notice under certain circumstances.
- Definition of Mass Layoff: No longer requires “single establishment” or 33 percent of headcount. The definition of a mass layoff includes reductions in force affecting at least 50 employees in New Jersey within a 30-day period. Regardless of where the employees worked.
- Mandatory Severance Pay: Covered New Jersey employers must provide severance pay equivalent to one week of pay per full year, without a limit on the years of service. For example, an employee with 20 years of service must be paid 20 weeks of severance. This applies even when the employer complies with the New Jersey WARN Act’s 90-day notice requirement. If an employer fails to give the full 90-day notice, an additional four weeks of severance pay is due. This is on top of the mandatory severance payment.
- Limited Defenses: Other WARN Acts excuse violations when mass layoffs occur due to unforeseeable business circumstances. Or when the “faltering company” had sought new capital or business. The New Jersey WARN Act excuses violations in rare shutdowns due to fire, flood, natural disaster, national emergency, act of war, civil disorder or industrial sabotage, or decertification from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
- Private Releases Forbidden: Employers often offer a modest payment to “release” potential WARN claims. Then, the employee cannot later sue the company for violating their WARN rights. Those releases or waivers are invalid without approval by a court or the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.
Fighting for Your Severance, Termination Pay, and Benefits
The WARN Act attorneys at Raisner Roupinian LLP advocate for hard-working employees who work for New Jersey companies. We seek severance of one week of pay for each year worked in addition to “notice pay” for 4 additional weeks. Plus, other potential compensation under the New Jersey WARN Act.