Back in late February and early March corporations in many industries were blindsided by the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on their bottom line. Companies took on dramatic losses as worldwide travel nearly came to a halt. Many aerospace companies elected to lay people off in an attempt to combat significant losses. Boeing has already conducted layoffs, and according to NPR they plan to cut 7,000 more workers. Boeing did issue a Warn Notice to its employees giving them 60 days notice before ending their employment.
But will a Warn Notice be enough to prevent employees from seeking legal recourse?
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to provide 60 days notice in advance of a business closure or mass layoff. Businesses do have the ability to claim “unforeseeable business circumstances” in instances where they do not offer a Warn Notice. Obviously a global pandemic would fall under the category of unforeseeable circumstances, the only question is how long can business make that claim? Obviously, in March major companies can claim unforeseen circumstances, but 8 months into a pandemic it becomes harder to claim that as a defense.
When businesses claim unforeseen circumstances they are still obligated to provide their employees with as much notice as possible. What constitutes “as much notice as possible” will vary case by case. There have not been an overwhelming amount of Warn Act lawsuits since the pandemic began, it is becoming clear that the longer this pandemic goes on the less protected companies become.
Boeing’s decision to offer its employees a Warn Notice definitely gives them some legal cover from potential lawsuits, however it is possible terminated employees could seek alternative legal grounds to move against Boeing
Sources:
Schaper, David “Citing 'Devastating' Pandemic Impact, Boeing To Lay Off 7,000 More Workers” NPR, 28 Oct. 2020 https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/28/928884032/citing-devastating-pandemic-impact-boeing-to-lay-off-7-000-more-workers#:~:text=Live%20Sessions-,Citing%20'Devastating'%20Pandemic%20Impact%2C%20Boeing%20To%20Lay%20Off%207%2C000,designs%20and%20builds%20many%20aircraft.
Puerta, Andres F. “As Weather Cools Down, WARN Act Lawsuits Likely to Heat Up – HR Daily Advisor.” HR Daily Advisor, 10 Nov. 2020, https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2020/11/10/as-weather-cools-down-warn-act-lawsuits-likely-to-heat-up/.
