COVID-19 Response – WARN

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March 27, 2020

COVID-19 Response - WARN

With the volume of impacted employers experiencing closures, it is impossible to keep up with the demand and response to all layoffs currently. The following information and resources below should assist in providing information to our customers.

It is important to prioritize permanent layoffs of 50+ employees first, then those with less than 50 employees second.

The following information should be shared with employers and employees impacted as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

The attached guidance materials include:

  1. Unemployment Insurance 101 One-Pager
  2. Worker Layoffs Due to COVID-19: What You Need to Know One-Pager

Federal law requires employers to provide at least 60 DAYS NOTICE to employees and certain goverment agencies and officials - but there are THREE EXCEPTIONS to that requirement:

  1. “faltering company” applies to plant closings, but not to mass layoffs and should be narrowly construed.
  2. “unforeseeable business circumstance” – Applicable for COVID-19 – applies to plant closings and mass layoffs caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time the 60-day notice would have been required.
  3. “natural disaster” applies to plant closings and mass layoffs due to any form of natural disaster.

Notice must be provided as soon as is practicable even when these exceptions apply, and the employer must provide a statement of the reason for reducing the notice requirement, in addition to fulfilling other notice information requirements. 

Please refer to the Worker Layoffs Due to COVID-19: What You Need to Know One-Pager linked above regarding submitting written notice.

If you have any questions or comments, please email your TAA/RR State Coordinator or email LEO-RapidResponseCommunications@michigan.gov. Attached is the TAA/RR State Coordinator contact list. Staff will collect questions and continue to provide guidance to the field.

Information around the COVID-19 outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

Thank you.

LEO-Workforce Development TAA/Rapid Response Team