[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ALTERING LAID OFF EMPLOYEES IN REASONABLE TIME ACT

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                         HON. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 27, 2009

  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to announce the 
introduction of my bill, the Alert Laid off Employees in Reasonable 
Time (ALERT) Act, legislation to amend the definition of ``mass 
layoff'' in the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 
(WARN) Act and to increase penalties for the violation of this act.
  With unemployment levels on the rise, widespread layoffs have ravaged 
our nation's workforce. All too frequently, employees are provided with 
no more than a month's notice to prepare for unemployment, and often 
less than that. This is a critical time that employees need to prepare 
for unemployment and to make informed financial decisions.
  Current federal law does not do enough to protect these workers. 
Under the federal WARN Act, employers are only required to provide 60-
days notice if the mass layoff impacts at least 500 employees or 33 
percent of a workforce when that percentage represents at least 50 
employees at one employment site. More and more, companies are 
conducting widespread layoffs which, nationwide, can impact hundreds 
and even thousands of employees but these massive layoffs often fail to 
trigger the WARN Act at each employment site. As such, far too many 
employees are denied the protections they are entitled to.
  To address this issue, I am proud to have introduced the ALERT Act. 
This legislation amends the definition of a ``mass layoff'' to include 
layoffs by one employer at more than one worksite. In addition, this 
bill would increase the penalty for violating the WARN Act to two times 
back pay and benefits.
  Madam Speaker, in these challenging economic times it is our 
responsibility do all we can to protect the workers. We must always 
remember that they are a key component to the growth of our economy and 
we must always ensure that they are protected, especially in this time 
of uncertainty. I am joined in support of this bill by the United 
Electrical Workers Union (UE) and the United Food and Commercial 
Workers (UFCW).

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