A federal law, the WARN Act, governs the process for filing a notice. The act seeks to protect workers, their families, and their communities by requiring employers to provide 60 days’ advance notice of certain plant closings and mass layoffs. Businesses that employ at least 100 workers, excluding part-time workers, are required to file a WARN notice if they are preparing to take one of the following actions:
- Close a plant that affects at least 50 employees during any 30-day period. (This does not include workers who have worked less than six months during the last year or employees who work less than an average of 20 hours a week.)
- Conduct a mass layoff of at least 500 employees, or a layoff impacting between 50-499 employees when that number represents at least one-third of the employer’s workforce.
WARN notices triggers a Rapid Response team into action, providing transition support for the employees that have been impacted by the closing.
Once they file this notice, the workers are eligible for worker retraining and support benefits through the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA). If a worker transitions from Pactiv Evergreen to another employer before the layoff occurs, then they will most likely not be eligible for WIOA benefits. The dislocated worker would need to be enrolled into WIOA by a career advisor at a NCWorks Career Center to receive these benefits. If after enrollment they obtain another job, then they are still eligible as they were enrolled prior to obtaining employment.
