WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

A 11216

Relates to providing reforms to the New York state worker adjustment and retraining notification act; repealer

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Harry Bronson

Broadens WARN coverage to include part-timers and more employer relationships, tightens notices, extends liability/back pay rules, and enhances AG enforcement.

REFERRED TO LABOR
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 11216

Bill A.11216 (2025-2026) — New York

Overview

  • Jurisdiction: New York
  • Session: 2025-2026
  • Introduced: May 1, 2026
  • Prime Sponsor: Assembly Member Bronson
  • Committee: Labor
  • Nature: Reforms to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), including repealer and broader definitions, expansions of employer status, and changes to penalties, back pay, and enforcement.

Main Purpose and Intent

The bill broadens and tightens various provisions of New York’s worker adjustment and retraining notification framework to:
- Remove the exclusion of part-time employees from key definitions.
- Expand the definition of “employer” to encompass additional relationships (including affiliates and control relationships).
- Narrow or remove certain exemptions and discretionary reductions related to notice requirements for mass layoffs, plant closures, and relocations.
-Eliminate the maximum time period for determining back pay and other liabilities, thereby potentially extending or clarifying liability.
- Authorize the Attorney General to take actions to assist affected employees in obtaining back pay and liabilities.
- Repeal certain provisions of current law related to these reforms.

Key Provisions and Changes

1) Redefinitions and Scope (Section 860-a)

  • Redefines several terms to widen coverage:
    • Affected employees: Those expected to experience employment loss due to a proposed plant closing or mass layoff.
    • Affiliate and Control: Broadens the connection between entities that can trigger coverage.
    • Associate, Beneficial owner: Tightens and clarifies ownership and relationship metrics.
    • Employment loss: Includes terminations (not for cause), mass layoffs (with a three-month window, replacing six months), and significant reductions in hours (more than 50% in any three-month period).
    • Employer: Expands to include more than just those with 50+ employees; clarifies inclusion of affiliates and removes a cap based on part-time status in some definitions.
    • Mass layoff: Recasts thresholds to use a three-month window rather than the prior six-month standard, with different numerical benchmarks.

2) Repeal and Amendments to Subdivisions (Section 860-b)

  • Repeals Subdivision 3 of 860-b (historic language related to certain exclusions).
  • Amends Subdivisions 5 and 7 (about notice responsibilities during sales, and employee transfer post-sale):
    • Seller remains responsible for notices up to the sale date; purchaser assumes responsibility after the sale.
    • Employees as of the sale date are treated as employees of the purchaser post-sale.

3) Notice Requirements and Exceptions (Section 860-c)

  • Amends the permissible reasons for not providing notice, tightening and clarifying exemptions:
    • Keeps some standard exceptions (e.g., natural disasters, temporary facilities, or projects with a defined end).
    • Replaces or narrows some conditions, including when a notice can be deemed unnecessary.

4) Extension of Mass Layoff Period (Section 860-d)

  • Extends the maximum duration for a mass layoff from six months to three months for certain scenarios, with criteria for extension based on business circumstances and required notice when extensions become reasonably foreseeable.

5) Determinations of Employment Loss (Section 860-e)

  • Clarifies treatment of multiple smaller lost-employment events within a 90-day window as potential facility closings or mass layoffs unless shown to be separate and distinct actions intended to evade requirements.

6) Back Pay and Liability (Section 860-g)

  • Establishes back pay calculations and liability periods:
    • Back pay and liability calculated for the violation period, capped at the lesser of 60 days or half the employee’s tenure.
    • Specifies reductions to liability for prior wage payments, voluntary payments, benefits, and other prior settlements.
  • Adds a new mechanism for reductions in liability in cases of natural disasters, with a process for judicial review and potential attorney general actions.

7) Enforcement and Legal Actions (Section 860-g)

  • Grants the Attorney General authority to pursue injunctive or other actions to enforce liability when an employer violates the article.

8) Enforceability and Severability

  • Maintains severability and clarifies that a court, the commissioner, or class counsel can supervise liabilities as appropriate.

9) Effective Date

  • The act takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Who Is Affected

  • Employers with 50+ employees (and related affiliates/controlled entities) fall within broader definitions.
  • Part-time employees become included within key definitions previously excluding them.
  • Employees at risk of plant closings, mass layoffs, relocations, or employment loss as defined by the act.
  • Sellers and purchasers in business sales are subject to clarified notice transfer responsibilities.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Immediate effect upon enactment (Section 9).
  • Revisions change how long a mass layoff can be considered under the act (Section 860-d) and how back pay/liability are calculated (Section 860-g).
  • Shifts in who can be deemed an employer and how notices are allocated in sales transactions (Section 860-b).

Summary

Bill A.11216 broadens and tightens protections for workers facing plant closings, mass layoffs, and similar employment disruptions by expanding coverage to part-time workers and more employer relationships, redefining relevant terms, refining notice requirements and exemptions, extending or clarifying liability for back pay, and enhancing state enforcement through the Attorney General. It represents a substantial shift toward broader application of WARN-like protections and stronger remedies for affected employees.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.