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Law360 (March 18, 2020, 7:23 PM EDT) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has loosened requirements for employers to give workers notice before laying them off in large numbers, as part of an executive order aimed at containing the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Newsom issued the executive order on Tuesday exempting businesses with more than 75 employees from part of California's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires giving workers 60 days notice before a mass layoff, relocation or termination. The governor suspended that provision of the WARN Act, effective March 4, as long as businesses give employees "as much notice as is practicable" and provide "a brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification period."
"Because of the need to prevent or mitigate the spread of COVID-19, employers have had to close rapidly without providing their employees the advance notice required under California law," Newsom said in the order.
In addition to relaxing the rules surrounding layoffs, Newsom also temporarily lifted some regulations on the hours that can be worked by commercial drivers transporting goods and people deemed necessary for fighting the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus.
The move followed the lead of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which last week suspended some restrictions on work schedules for certain commercial drivers. The federal regulator on Wednesday announced some changes to its earlier declaration to clarify that it only covered only drivers carrying more than a "nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief."
Newsom directed the California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency to issue public guidance by March 23 regarding how the executive order will be implemented.
Matthew Korn, a labor and employment attorney with Fisher Phillips, told Law360 on Wednesday that it wasn't totally accurate to deem Newsom's executive order a "suspension" of the Golden State's WARN Act.
"Employers are still required to provide notice to employees and various government entities 'as soon as practicable' and provide the 'basis for reducing the notification period,' among other requirements," Korn said. "Additionally, California employers with 100 employees are also subject to the federal WARN Act and should ensure that notices are compliant with both federal and state law."
Newsom's office didn't immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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