Hospital May Owe $50 Million To Former Employees For Alleged WARN Act Violation
- Article Information
- Published on Monday, 15 November 2010 19:03
The New York state Department of Labor is pursuing a $50 million dollar claim against St. Vincent's Hospital for allegedly violating a state labor law (the New York Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act)) pertaining to mass layoffs when it closed in April of 2010. On April 12, St. Vincent's provided notice to 2,780 employees that they would be laid off starting April 20. The money is for 60 days of back pay and benefits claimed by the hospital employees who lost their jobs. The New York WARN law is similar to the federal law on this issue and requires employers to provide 90 days notice to employees before a mass layoff. The law is intended to provide employees with a safety net as they look for new jobs or retraining services prior to the layoff. Last year, the labor department received 400 WARN notices covering 41,000 workers. Although 20 WARN investigations are under way, if the lawsuit is successful against St. Vincent's, it could generate by far the largest penalty. California also has a WARN Act. It applies to employers with 75 full-time or part-time employees at any time in the preceding 12 months and requires that if a mass layoff (period of 30 days) will occur effecting 50 or more employees, then those employees who have been employed by the employer for at least six of the last 12 months preceding the date of the required notice, must be given 60 days notice of the layoff....
