SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, an important bill to assist dislocated workers, authored by Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson (D-Oakland) passed the California State Assembly.  The measure, Assembly Bill 1989, would improve advance notification and workforce services to California workers who are losing their jobs as a result of the struggling economy.  The bill passed the Assembly floor by a 42-28 vote.

"Every day brings more bad economic news and more layoff notices for California workers," said Swanson.  "We need to ensure that the safety net set up to assist these dislocated workers is as strong as possible.  The bottom line is that our workers and our local communities need as much advance notice of job loss as possible in order to plan accordingly."

Under current state law, a covered employer must provide 60 days notice to employees in the event of a mass layoff, relocation or termination.  Notice is also required to be given to the Employment Development Department (EDD), the local workforce investment board and local government officials.

The state law (enacted in 2003) is referred to as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and is based on a similar Federal law.  The goal of the Act is to provide workers with advance notice of major job loss so that they may receive the services they need to find other work.  A worker who is not provided notice is entitled to 60 days back pay and the value of any benefits the employee would have received during that 60-day period.

AB 1989 makes a number of significant improvements to State law.  First, it extends the notice requirement from 60 to 90 days.  Second, the bill requires the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (Labor Agency) to establish an Office of Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion.  This office would be required to prepare a guide of benefits and services available to dislocated employees and their employers.  Under the bill, the Labor Agency would be required to provide this guide to employers filing a WARN Act notice and those employers would have to provide the guide to their workers.  Finally, the bill revises a number of the definitions of triggering events under the Act to ensure that employers are not able to evade the notice requirements.

“California's floundering economy is resulting in wide-spread layoffs for thousands of working families across the state,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation (the sponsor of the measure). “As businesses continue downsizing their operations, in some cases moving them offshore, we need to enhance the WARN Act to give workers adequate notice about an impending job loss, while improving the way that the state gauges the prevalence and effects of downsizing.”

“The Governor has made it pretty clear over the last several years that he will veto just about any bill adding substantive rights for California workers,” Assemblymember Swanson noted.  "I am hopeful that the Governor will agree with me that at the very least we can ensure that workers who are losing their jobs through no fault of their own are provided as much advance warning and job services as possible."

The bill next heads to the California State Senate.