Obama, The Fiscal Cliff, And The WARN Act

[g5000]

Fact Sheet - The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

If a company is going to shut down a plant or enact mass layoffs, they are required by federal law (the WARN Act) to provide the employees 60 days notice.

WARN offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. This notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union); to the State dislocated worker unit; and to the appropriate unit of local government.

In January, there is a fiscal cliff coming if no budget is approved. Automatic cuts will hit the defense budget and this will immediately affect defense contractors.

If you back up 60 days from there, you are just days in front of the election. Friday, November 2. The election is on Tuesday, November 6.

Guess what the Obama Administration has realized?

Yeah. If millions of defense workers get a WARN Act notice they will be unemployed in January, that could, like, affect the election and stuff.

And that is why the Department of Labor has sent out a notice to defense contractors not to send out WARN Act notices to their employees.

See for yourself: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_3a_12_acc.pdf

Questions have recently been raised as to whether the WARN Act requires Federal contractors—including, in particular, contractors of the Department of Defense (DOD)—whose contracts may be terminated or reduced in the event of sequestration on January 2, 2013, to provide WARN Act notices 60 days before that date to their workers employed under government contracts funded from sequestrable accounts. The answer to this question is “no.”

Things that make you go hmmmm...

 

[DontBeStupid]

Ok. So what you're saying is, that if the GOP stalls on all spending bills until after the election, workers will get this WARN Act notification and that could hurt Obama's chances.

Yup, things that make you go hmmmm.

 

[g5000]

The Obama Administration clearly feels this is more of a danger to Obama than the GOP. Thus the Dept. of Labor telling defense contractors not to follow the law.

 

[FA_Q2]

Ok. So what you're saying is, that if the GOP stalls on all spending bills until after the election, workers will get this WARN Act notification and that could hurt Obama's chances.

Yup, things that make you go hmmmm.

?
What are you talking about?

The automatic defense cuts ARE ALREADY EXISTING LAW. No matter what the GOP or anyone does with spending bills those cuts are going to happen unless someone passes legislation that stops them, legislation that Obama (rightly so) has promised to veto.

 

[Moonglow]

The new year does not start until Oct 1

 

[Sallow]

Obama should stand firm.

GOP says government spending doesn't create jobs.

Well..let them keep with that meme.

 

[Full-Auto]

Fact Sheet - The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

If a company is going to shut down a plant or enact mass layoffs, they are required by federal law (the WARN Act) to provide the employees 60 days notice.

WARN offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. This notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union); to the State dislocated worker unit; and to the appropriate unit of local government.

In January, there is a fiscal cliff coming if no budget is approved. Automatic cuts will hit the defense budget and this will immediately affect defense contractors.

If you back up 60 days from there, you are just days in front of the election. Friday, November 2. The election is on Tuesday, November 6.

Guess what the Obama Administration has realized?

Yeah. If millions of defense workers get a WARN Act notice they will be unemployed in January, that could, like, affect the election and stuff.

And that is why the Department of Labor has sent out a notice to defense contractors not to send out WARN Act notices to their employees.

See for yourself: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_3a_12_acc.pdf

Questions have recently been raised as to whether the WARN Act requires Federal contractors—including, in particular, contractors of the Department of Defense (DOD)—whose contracts may be terminated or reduced in the event of sequestration on January 2, 2013, to provide WARN Act notices 60 days before that date to their workers employed under government contracts funded from sequestrable accounts. The answer to this question is “no.”

Things that make you go hmmmm...

As a democrat the laws apply to thee not to me....

Got it.........

Democrats will of course cheer then start some nonsense later about the rule of law

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Obama and the Dems have been criminally negligent in refusing to pass a budget

 

[Sallow]

Ok. So what you're saying is, that if the GOP stalls on all spending bills until after the election, workers will get this WARN Act notification and that could hurt Obama's chances.

Yup, things that make you go hmmmm.

It won't hurt Obama.

 

[Wiseacre]

Ok. So what you're saying is, that if the GOP stalls on all spending bills until after the election, workers will get this WARN Act notification and that could hurt Obama's chances.

Yup, things that make you go hmmmm.

It won't hurt Obama.

Then why is his Dept of Labor sending out guidance they have no business doing to preclude layoff warnings prior to election day?

Once again, for those who didn't read the OP:


On Jan 2, 2013, if the debt ceiling/budget mess isn't resolved, the agreed sequestration will occur. Which means major cuts in the defense industries, which means potential layoffs. Current law requires 60 day notice for layoffs, which means people could get these warnings just before the Nov 6 election date.

So what does Obama do? He has the DOL send out guidance that says such notices would be inappropriate. They say questions have been raised as to whether the WARN Act appplies to federal contractors; questions no doubt raised by the Obama re-election campaign.

This is bullshit. The DOL is usually pushing companies hard to send these notices so the affected workers can find another job asap. But apparently not when it might affect the presidential election. And here's the kicker: under the WARN Act, the DOL has no authority whatsoever to do what it did. In fact the legislation specific says: “The Department of Labor, since it has no administrative or enforcement responsibility under WARN, cannot provide specific advice or guidance with respect to individual situations”.