What is WARN Act? Elon Musk’s Twitter layoffs may attract class action

As part of the massive layoffs following the acquisition of the company by Elon Musk, Twitter is preparing a mail to be sent to its employees informing them whether they have been fired, their access has been suspended or the offices have been closed down.

However, what the social networking platform might not realize is the fact that something called the WARN Act might create legal problems for them in the near future, that is, if the company plans to recklessly lay off a large number of employees without providing them with a 60-day notice. 

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The existence of such a law was first brought to light by a California lawyer called Lisa Bloom. Her tweet went viral under the hashtag “TwitterLayoffs.”

Bloom, a trial lawyer, who runs her own firm, fighting for victims of discrimination, harassment, and abuse, tweeted, “Hey Twitter employees getting laid off tomorrow! IMPORTANT INFO from a CA employment attorney (me): CA’s “WARN” law requires Twitter to give you 60 days notice of a massive layoff. A layoff of 50+ employees within a 30-day period qualifies. I know you didn’t get that notice.”

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She then went on to explain: “This WARN law applies to all California employers of 75+ employees, which obviously includes Twitter with its thousands of employees.

Purpose of the law is to give laid-off employees time to figure out how to handle this disruption.

And Elon completely ignores it. Employers like Twitter who violate the WARN Act face civil penalties of $500/day for each violation. With thousands of employees, this could be significant, though maybe not to Elon.”

Bloom then hinted at the fact that Twitter might be headed toward a massive class action lawsuit. 

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What is the WARN Act?

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act “helps ensure advance notice in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs. The U.S. Department of Labor has compliance assistance materials to help workers and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under the provisions of WARN.”

The act was passed by Congress in 1988 “to provide workers with sufficient time to prepare for the transition between the jobs they currently hold and new jobs.” The law makes it obligatory for the employers to provide alternate employment or retraining options for the employees who are about to be sacked. 

The law further states: “As an employer, understanding your obligations under WARN is important. Your filing of an official WARN notice is typically the impetus for starting the Rapid Response process to assist the employees who might be affected.”