Competing Definitions of 'Mass Layoffs' Under the WARN Act

The Retraining and Notification Act (“WARN” or The Act) requires that covered employers provide at least 60 days' notice of a “plant closing” or “mass layoff” to affected employees “to ensure that 'workers receive advance notice of plant closures and mass layoffs that affect their jobs.'” See 29 U.S.C. ' 2102; 20 CFR ” 639.2, 639.6; Kildea v. Electro-Wire Products, Inc., 144 F.3d 400, 405 (6th Cir. 1998), quoting Marques v. Telles Ranch, Inc., 131 F.3d 1331, 1333 (9th Cir. 1997). However, the Act creates some uncertainty for employers because it contains two potentially conflicting definitions of the term “mass layoff” ' one that looks to a 30-day period and another that aggregates layoffs over a 90-day period. In Manchester v. Main Street Textiles, L.P., et al., 487 F. Supp. 2d 120 (D. Mass. 2007), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts squarely addressed the potential conflict between the two statutory provisions, and it determined that, when satisfied, WARN's 30-day threshold was intended to be the default provision for determining when a “mass layoff” occurs.