Effective 4/10/23 New Jersey will expand mini-WARN notice and severance requirements which applies to employers of 100 or more employees regardless of the state where they work and their status as full or part time.
NJ Mini-WARN notice and severance requirements will now apply if an employer lays off or terminates 50 or more employees working in or reporting to a person in NJ for more than 30 days, or if the reasons for the layoffs/termination are related over a 90 day period. Employers are now required to provide the required notices at least 90 days’ before the mass termination or layoff instead of the previous 60 day notice period.
NJ Mini-WARN also requires employers to provide employees with severance pay of one week of pay for each full year of their employment even if the required 90 day notice is given. If 90 days’ notice of the layoff is not given, employers must provide an additional four weeks of severance pay.
Part-time and full-time employees at all worksites in New Jersey as well as those who report to a location in NJ are counted for the 50-employee layoff threshold. The law now applies if 50 employees are laid off at “an establishment,” which is defined as a single location or group of locations in the state which is different form the past requirement of a single place of employment.
If your company is considering a layoff or termination in NJ, you may want to consider if this expanded NJ mini-WARN law will affect your particular situation.