II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3283 

To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to support 

workers who are subject to an employment loss, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SANDERS, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to support workers who are subject to an employment loss, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Warning Act of 

5 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS; PROVISION OF NOTICE OF SITE CLOS2 INGS AND MASS LAYOFFS. 

3 (a) WARN ACT AMENDMENTS.—Sections 2 and 3 of 

4 the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 

5 (29 U.S.C. 2101; 2102) are amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS; EXCLUSIONS FROM DEFINITION OF 

7 LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act: 

9 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘af10 fected employee’ means a full-time or part-time em11 ployee who may reasonably be expected to experience 

12 an employment loss as a consequence of a proposed 

13 site closing or mass layoff by the employee’s em14 ployer. 

15 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer’ 

17 means any business enterprise of one or more 

18 entities that— 

19 ‘‘(i) employs 50 or more employees, 

20 including part-time employees, in the ag21 gregate; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) has an annual payroll of at least 

23 $2,000,000. 

24 ‘‘(B) MULTIPLE ENTITIES.— 

25 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

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1 ty, the entity subject to the requirements 

2 under this Act as an employer of an af3 fected employee shall be the entity that di4 rectly employs such employee. 

5 ‘‘(ii) PARENTS, AFFILIATES, AND CON6 TRACTING COMPANIES.—A parent, affil7 iate, or contracting company of the entity 

8 described in clause (i) may also be subject 

9 to the requirements under this Act as an 

10 employer of the affected employee de11 scribed in such clause based on the degree 

12 of control or integration the parent, affil13 iate, or contracting company exercises out14 side of or at the single site of employment 

15 at which the site closing or mass layoff oc16 curred. Such control or integration shall be 

17 indicated by such factors as— 

18 ‘‘(I) common ownership or finan19 cial control; 

20 ‘‘(II) common directors or offi21 cers; 

22 ‘‘(III) de facto exercise of control 

23 over the circumstances relating to 

24 such site closing or mass layoff; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) unity of personnel policies 

2 emanating from a common source; or 

3 ‘‘(V) dependency of operations. 

4 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—For pur5 poses of subparagraph (B)— 

6 ‘‘(i) the term ‘contracting company’ 

7 means an ultimate or intermediate client of 

8 an independent contractor or a provider of 

9 financial services that participates directly 

10 or indirectly in making decisions that af11 fect the provision of notice required under 

12 this Act; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘parent’ means an ulti14 mate owner or intermediate owner, regard15 less of amount of ownership interest, that 

16 participates directly or indirectly in making 

17 decisions that affect the provision of notice 

18 required under this Act. 

19 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION.—In allocating li20 ability under this Act among multiple entities of 

21 a business enterprise, substantial weight shall 

22 be given to any decisionmaking responsibility an 

23 entity had for the failure to provide notice to 

24 affected employees as required under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT LOSS.—Subject to sub2 section (b), the term ‘employment loss’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) an employment termination, other 

4 than a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, 

5 or retirement; 

6 ‘‘(B) a layoff through a mass layoff or site 

7 closing that is not a temporary mass layoff or 

8 temporary site closing in compliance with the 

9 requirements under paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

10 section 3(d); or 

11 ‘‘(C) a reduction in hours of work of more 

12 than 50 percent during each month of any 90- 

13 day period that is not part of a short-time com14 pensation program provided in the case of such 

15 a temporary mass layoff or temporary site clos16 ing. 

17 ‘‘(4) MASS LAYOFF.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘mass lay19 off’ means a reduction in force that results in 

20 an employment loss during any 90-day period— 

21 ‘‘(i) for 10 or more employees of an 

22 employer at a single site of employment, as 

23 calculated under subparagraph (B); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) for 250 or more employees of an 

25 employer, irrespective of employment site. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION.—The number of em2 ployees at a single site of employment who suf3 fer an employment loss shall be calculated in a 

4 manner that includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) all such employees who work at 

6 the physical location of the site; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) all such employees who work re8 motely and— 

9 ‘‘(I) are assigned to or otherwise 

10 associated with the site; 

11 ‘‘(II) receive assignments or 

12 training from the site; 

13 ‘‘(III) report to a manager asso14 ciated with the site; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) whose job loss was a fore16 seeable consequence of a reduction in 

17 force at the site. 

18 ‘‘(5) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘representa19 tive’ means an exclusive representative of employees 

20 within the meaning of section 8(f) or 9(a) of the Na21 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(f); 

22 159(a)) or section 2 of the Railway Labor Act (45 

23 U.S.C. 152). 

24 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

25 the Secretary of Labor. 


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1 ‘‘(7) SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION PROGRAM.— 

2 The term ‘short-time compensation program’ 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(A) a short-time compensation program, 

5 as defined in section 3306(v) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986, that is operational; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a program determined by the Sec8 retary to be equivalent to a program described 

9 in subparagraph (A) that provides, in com10 parable amounts and with comparable restric11 tions to such a program, employees experi12 encing a temporary reduction in work hours 

13 with pro rata pay, unimpaired benefits, and 

14 supplemental income. 

15 ‘‘(8) SITE CLOSING.—The term ‘site closing’ 

16 means the permanent or temporary shutdown of a 

17 single site of employment, or one or more facilities 

18 or operating units within a single site of employ19 ment, that results in an employment loss at the sin20 gle site of employment during any 30-day period for 

21 5 or more employees, calculated in the same manner 

22 as described in paragraph (4)(B). 

23 ‘‘(9) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

24 ‘unit of local government’ means any general pur25 pose political subdivision of a State which has the 


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1 power to levy taxes and spend funds, as well as gen2 eral corporate and police powers. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXCLUSIONS FROM EMPLOYMENT LOSS DUE

4 TO A SITE CLOSING OR MASS LAYOFF.—An employee 

5 shall not be considered to have experienced an employment 

6 loss due to a site closing or mass layoff if the site closing 

7 or mass layoff is the result of the relocation or consolida8 tion of part or all of the employer’s business and, prior 

9 to the site closing or mass layoff— 

10 ‘‘(1) the employer offers to transfer the em11 ployee to a different site of employment within a 

12 reasonable commuting distance with no more than a 

13 90-day break in employment; or 

14 ‘‘(2) the employer offers to transfer the em15 ployee to any other site of employment regardless of 

16 distance with no more than a 90-day break in em17 ployment, and the employee accepts within 30 days 

18 of the offer or of the site closing or mass layoff, 

19 whichever is later. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE SITE CLOSINGS AND 

21 MASS LAYOFFS. 

22 ‘‘(a) NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES, STATE DISLOCATED

23 WORKER UNITS, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Except as 

24 provided in subsection (c), an employer shall not order a 

25 site closing or mass layoff until 90 calendar days after 


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1 the date on which the employer has served written notice 

2 of such an order to— 

3 ‘‘(1)(A) each representative of the affected em4 ployees as of the time of the notice; or 

5 ‘‘(B) each affected employee; 

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary and the Governor of the 

7 State where the site closing or mass layoff is to 

8 occur; 

9 ‘‘(3) the State or entity designated by the State 

10 to carry out rapid response activities under section 

11 134(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Op12 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(2)(A)); and 

13 ‘‘(4) the chief elected official of the unit of local 

14 government within which such closing or layoff is to 

15 occur. 

16 ‘‘(b) DUTIES UPON RECEIPT OF NOTICE.—A State 

17 or designated entity that receives a notice under sub18 section (a)(3) shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) make the information in the notice publicly 

20 available within the jurisdiction of the local govern21 ment involved; 

22 ‘‘(2) transmit a copy of the notice to each af23 fected local area (as defined in section 3 of the 

24 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

25 U.S.C. 3102)), so that the information in the notice 


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1 can be distributed through activities under section 

2 134(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 

3 3174(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa)); and 

4 ‘‘(3) ensure that— 

5 ‘‘(A) an appropriate labor-management 

6 committee described in section 3(51)(C) of the 

7 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

8 U.S.C. 3102(51)(C)) has been established or is 

9 established not later than 20 days after receipt 

10 of the notice; and 

11 ‘‘(B) an individual is designated, by not 

12 later than 20 days after receipt of such notice, 

13 to coordinate rapid response activities described 

14 in section 134(a)(2)(A)(i) of such Act, in con15 sultation with the labor-management com16 mittee. 

17 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION OF NOTIFICATION PERIOD.— 

18 ‘‘(1) POTENTIAL NEW BUSINESS OR FINANC19 ING.—An employer may order the site closing of a 

20 single site of employment before the conclusion of 

21 the 90-day period described in subsection (a) if the 

22 employer can demonstrate that— 

23 ‘‘(A) as of the date that notice would have 

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1 ceptable terms, new business or financing in an 

2 amount which, if obtained, would have enabled 

3 the employer to avoid the site closing; and 

4 ‘‘(B) had notice been given as of such date, 

5 the notice would have precluded the new busi6 ness or financing. 

7 ‘‘(2) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) NATURAL DISASTERS.—The 90-day 

9 advance notice under subsection (a) shall not be 

10 required if the site closing or mass layoff is due 

11 directly to any form of natural disaster, such as 

12 a flood, earthquake, or a drought ravaging the 

13 farmlands of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(B) TERRORIST ATTACKS.—The 90-day 

15 advance notice under subsection (a) shall not be 

16 required if the site closing or mass layoff is due 

17 directly to a terrorist attack that affects the op18 eration of the site. 

19 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.— 

20 The 90-day advance notice under subsection (a) 

21 shall not be required if the site closing or mass 

22 layoff is due directly to a catastrophic infectious 

23 disease outbreak or other public health emer24 gency that affects the operation of the site. 

25 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF NOTICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) POTENTIAL NEW BUSINESS OR FI2 NANCING.—An employer relying on paragraph 

3 (1) shall be liable under this Act for any por4 tion of the 90-day period described in sub5 section (a) prior to the provision of notice in 

6 which it is unable to meet the requirements of 

7 such paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(B) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An employer rely10 ing on paragraph (1) or (2) shall give as 

11 much notice as is practicable and at that 

12 time shall give a brief statement of the 

13 basis for reducing the notification period. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIABILITY.—An employer that 

15 fails to satisfy the requirements under 

16 clause (i) shall be liable under this Act for 

17 the full 90-day period described in sub18 section (a). 

19 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY MASS LAYOFF OR SITE CLOS20 ING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A layoff through a tem22 porary mass layoff or temporary site closing shall be 

23 treated as an employment loss under this Act as of 

24 the date of the commencement of the temporary 

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1 ployer complies with the requirements under para2 graphs (2) and (3). 

3 ‘‘(2) INITIAL PERIOD OF TEMPORARY MASS

4 LAYOFF OR SITE CLOSING.—With respect to the pe5 riod of a temporary mass layoff or temporary site 

6 closing that has not been extended as described in 

7 paragraph (3), the employer shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) at the commencement of such layoff 

9 or closing, provide a written notice as required 

10 under subsection (a) stating— 

11 ‘‘(i) the date on which the employer 

12 expects to recall the affected employees to 

13 work, which date shall be less than 90 days 

14 after the date of such commencement; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) that the employer will provide 

16 short-time compensation for the duration 

17 of such layoff or closing through a short18 time compensation program; 

19 ‘‘(B) as soon as practicable, provide short20 time compensation through such program, 

21 which shall continue to be provided for the du22 ration of the temporary mass layoff or tem23 porary site closing; and 

24 ‘‘(C) on or before the recall date stated 

25 under subparagraph (A)(i)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in good faith, recall the affected 

2 employees for at least 90 days of employ3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(ii) extend the period of the tem5 porary mass layoff or temporary site clos6 ing in accordance with paragraph (3); or 

7 ‘‘(iii) except as provided in paragraph 

8 (4)(C), terminate the affected employees 

9 with not less than 90 days’ notice. 

10 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF TEMPORARY

11 MASS LAYOFF OR SITE CLOSING.—In the case the 

12 employer seeks to extend the period of a temporary 

13 mass layoff or temporary site closing beyond the re14 call date stated under paragraph (2)(A)(i) or a sub15 sequent recall date as provided under this para16 graph, the employer shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) prior to the pending recall date, pro18 vide to each individual or entity described in 

19 subsection (a) a written notice of such exten20 sion, stating— 

21 ‘‘(i) that the period of the temporary 

22 mass layoff or temporary site closing will 

23 be extended to a new recall date within 90 

24 days of the pending recall date; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that the employer will continue 

2 providing short-time compensation as de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii); 

4 ‘‘(B) continue providing short-time com5 pensation as described in paragraph (2)(B); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) on or before such new recall date— 

8 ‘‘(i) in good faith, recall the affected 

9 employees for at least 90 days of employ10 ment; 

11 ‘‘(ii) further extend the period of the 

12 temporary mass layoff or temporary site 

13 closing in accordance with this paragraph; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(iii) except as provided in paragraph 

16 (4)(C), terminate the affected employees 

17 with not less than 90 days’ notice. 

18 ‘‘(4) TEMPORARY MASS LAYOFFS OR SITE CLOS19 INGS RESULTING IN TERMINATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case the period 

21 of a temporary mass layoff or temporary site 

22 closing, including any extensions of such layoff 

23 or closing, culminates in the employer termi24 nating an affected employee with less than 90 

25 days’ notice in violation of paragraph (2)(C)(iii) 


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1 or paragraph (3)(C)(iii), the employer shall, ex2 cept as provided in subparagraph (C), be liable 

3 to such employee for back pay and benefits as 

4 described in section 5 for each day, for up to 

5 a maximum of 90 days, the employer did not 

6 provide notice and short-time compensation as 

7 required under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(B) NO REDUCTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

9 section 5(a)(2), no amount for which an em10 ployer is liable under subparagraph (A) shall be 

11 reduced by any payment received by an em12 ployee for short-time compensation during the 

13 period of the violation. 

14 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—An employer may ter15 minate an affected employee under paragraph 

16 (2)(C)(iii) or (3)(C)(iii) with less than 90-days’ 

17 notice as described in such paragraph if the em18 ployer can demonstrate the existence of a cir19 cumstance described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 

20 subsection (c). The applicable requirements 

21 under paragraph (3) of such subsection shall 

22 apply with respect to any employer relying on 

23 such a circumstance in providing less than 90- 

24 days’ notice under paragraph (2)(C)(iii) or 

25 (3)(C)(iii). 


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1 ‘‘(e) DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO EMPLOY2 MENT LOSS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) MULTIPLE GROUPS.—For purposes of this 

4 section, in determining whether a site closing or 

5 mass layoff at a single site of employment has oc6 curred or will occur, employment losses for 2 or 

7 more groups at the single site of employment, each 

8 of which is less than the minimum number of em9 ployees specified in paragraph (4) or (8) of section 

10 2(a) but which in the aggregate exceed that min11 imum number, and which occur within any 90-day 

12 period, shall be considered to be a site closing or 

13 mass layoff unless the employer demonstrates that 

14 the employment losses are the result of separate and 

15 distinct actions and causes and are not an attempt 

16 by the employer to evade the requirements of this 

17 Act. 

18 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF BUSINESS SALES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a sale 

20 of part or all of an employer’s business, the 

21 seller shall be responsible for providing notice 

22 for any site closing or mass layoff in accordance 

23 with this section up to and including the effec24 tive date of the sale. After the effective date of 

25 the sale of part or all of an employer’s business, 


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1 the purchaser shall be responsible for providing 

2 notice for any site closing or mass layoff in ac3 cordance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEES.—In the 

5 case of a sale of part or all of an employer’s 

6 business, and notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of this Act, any person who is an employee 

8 of the seller as of the effective date of the sale 

9 shall be considered an employee of the pur10 chaser immediately after the effective date of 

11 the sale. 

12 ‘‘(f) CONTENT OF NOTICES.—An employer who is re13 quired to provide notice as required under subsection (a) 

14 shall include— 

15 ‘‘(1) in each notice required under such sub16 section— 

17 ‘‘(A) a statement of the number of affected 

18 employees; 

19 ‘‘(B) the reason for the site closing or 

20 mass layoff; 

21 ‘‘(C) whether the layoff is permanent or 

22 temporary and, if temporary, the date on which 

23 the employer expects to recall the affected em24 ployees to work; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the availability of employment at 

2 other establishments owned by the employer; 

3 ‘‘(E) a statement of each employee’s rights 

4 with respect to wages and severance and em5 ployee benefits; and 

6 ‘‘(F) a statement of the available employ7 ment and training services provided by the De8 partment of Labor; and 

9 ‘‘(2) in each notice required under such sub10 section (except for paragraph (1)(B) of such sub11 section), the names, addresses, and occupations of 

12 the affected employees. 

13 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION REGARDING BENEFITS AND

14 SERVICES AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES.—Concurrent with 

15 or immediately after providing the notice required under 

16 subsection (a)(1), an employer shall provide affected em17 ployees with information regarding the benefits and serv18 ices available to such employees, as described in the guide 

19 compiled by the Secretary under section 13. 

20 ‘‘(h) ACCESS OF RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS.—An em21 ployer who is required to provide notice under subsection 

22 (a) shall permit, during work hours, reasonable on-site ac23 cess to any Federal, State, or local rapid response team 

24 under section 134(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation 

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1 sible for providing reemployment, training services, and 

2 related services to affected employees. 

3 ‘‘(i) DOL NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—As soon as prac4 ticable and not later than 15 days after receiving notice 

5 under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall notify the ap6 propriate Senators and Members of the House of Rep7 resentatives who represent the area or areas where the site 

8 closing or mass layoff is to occur.’’. 

9 (b) WIOA AMENDMENT REGARDING THE PROVISION

10 OF INFORMATION THROUGH LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND

11 TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa) 

12 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 3174(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa)) is amended by inserting 

14 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘and of information in 

15 notices described in section 3(a), and of access to the data16 base established under section 5(e), of the Worker Adjust17 ment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(a); 

18 2104(e))’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION. 

20 Section 4 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

21 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2103) is amended to read as 

22 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. EXEMPTION. 

2 ‘‘This Act shall not apply to a site closing or mass 

3 layoff if the closing or layoff is the result of the completion 

4 of a particular project or undertaking for which— 

5 ‘‘(1) the completion point of the project or un6 dertaking was— 

7 ‘‘(A) ascertainable; and 

8 ‘‘(B) when an affected employee was hired, 

9 described to and acknowledged by the employee, 

10 in writing, as limiting the duration of the em11 ployment; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the approach of the completion point was 

13 reasonably obvious, without any notice other than 

14 under paragraph (1)(B), to any affected employee 

15 not less than 60 days before the occurrence of the 

16 completion point.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF RE18 QUIREMENTS. 

19 Section 5 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

20 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘plant’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘site’’; 

26 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

2 (i), by striking ‘‘each day’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘each calendar day’’; and 

4 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

6 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

7 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

8 and’’; 

9 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

10 (B) the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) liquidated damages in an amount equal to 

12 30 days of back pay, at the rate of compensation 

13 calculated under subparagraph (A).’’; and 

14 (v) in the flush text following sub15 paragraph (C) (as added by clause (iv)), by 

16 striking ‘‘a maximum’’ through ‘‘event’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘90 days, plus a day for 

18 each day that an employee is on parental, 

19 family, or medical leave during the period 

20 of violation and for each day that an em21 ployee has such leave curtailed due to such 

22 employment loss. In no event shall an em23 ployer be liable’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 which begins on the date of the employment 

3 loss’’ after ‘‘the violation’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘the 

5 Secretary, a State, or’’ before ‘‘a unit of local 

6 government’’; 

7 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘which has violated 

9 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘that has violated 

10 the provisions of section 3 with respect to 

11 the Secretary, a State, or a unit of local 

12 government’’; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘omission that violated 

14 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘omission that vio15 lated such provisions’’; 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘violation of this Act’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘violation of such provi18 sions’’; and 

19 (iv) by striking ‘‘reduce the amount of 

20 the liability or penalty provided for in this 

21 section’’ and inserting ‘‘reduce the amount 

22 of the penalty under paragraph (3)’’; 

23 (E) by striking paragraph (5) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(5)(A) A person (including a representative of 

2 employees, the State where the site closing or mass 

3 layoff is to occur, the entity designated by the State 

4 to carry out rapid response activities under section 

5 134(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Op6 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(2)(A)), or a unit 

7 of local government aggrieved under paragraph (1) 

8 or (3)) seeking to enforce the liability provided for 

9 in this section may, either for such person, for other 

10 persons similarly situated, or for both, sue in any 

11 district court of the United States for any district in 

12 which the violation is alleged to have occurred or in 

13 which the employer transacts business. 

14 ‘‘(B) A person’s right to institute (including on 

15 behalf of other persons) or benefit from enforcement 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall not be affected by any 

17 predispute agreement, including any predispute arbi18 tration agreement or predispute joint-action waiver 

19 (as such terms are defined in section 401 of title 9, 

20 United States Code).’’; 

21 (F) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘pre22 vailing party’’ and inserting ‘‘prevailing plain23 tiff’’; and 

24 (G) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘plant’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘site’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub2 section (c); 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—An action shall be brought 

6 under this section not later than 4 years after the date 

7 of the last event constituting the alleged violation for 

8 which the action is brought.’’; 

9 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by 

10 striking ‘‘plant’’ and inserting ‘‘site’’; and 

11 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION FROM LIQUIDATED DAMAGES.— 

13 Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1)(C), an employer is not 

14 liable for the liquidated damages described in such sub15 section if the alleged site closing or mass layoff is caused 

16 by business circumstances (other than a financier’s deci17 sion) that were not contemplated nor should reasonably 

18 have been contemplated as of the 30th day before the site 

19 closing or mass layoff. 

20 ‘‘(e) DATABASE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) TRANSMITTALS.—A State or designated 

22 entity that receives a notice under section 3(a) shall 

23 transmit a copy of the notice to the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(2) DATABASE.—The Secretary shall create 

25 and maintain a publicly available database that proVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Nov 16, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3283.IS S3283

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1 vides information from notices transmitted under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF DATABASE.—The database 

4 under paragraph (2) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) for each notice transmitted under 

6 paragraph (1), a copy of the notice, the date of 

7 the notice, the name of the employer involved, 

8 the unit of local government affected by the 

9 closing or layoff involved, the number of em10 ployees so affected, the sector in which the lay11 off occurred (as identified by the North Amer12 ican Industry Classification System code), and 

13 the type of the closing or layoff; 

14 ‘‘(B) a search function that allows users to 

15 identify the geographic, annual, and sectoral 

16 breakdown of the notices; and 

17 ‘‘(C) a function that allows the data to be 

18 downloaded in a user-friendly format. 

19 ‘‘(4) ACCESS THROUGH WEBSITE.—The Sec20 retary shall provide a link to the database through 

21 the internet website of the Department of Labor.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. POSTING OF NOTICES. 

23 Section 11 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

24 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 note) is amended to read 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 11. POSTING OF NOTICES. 

2 ‘‘(a) POSTING OF NOTICES.—Each employer shall 

3 post and keep posted, in conspicuous places upon the 

4 premises of the employer where notices to employees are 

5 customarily posted, a notice to be prepared or approved 

6 by the Secretary setting forth excerpts from, or summaries 

7 of, the pertinent provisions of this Act and information 

8 pertinent to the filing of a complaint under this Act. 

9 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—The Secretary may impose a civil 

10 penalty on any person who willfully violates this section 

11 of not more than $500 for each separate offense.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. NON-WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES; INFORMA13 TION REGARDING BENEFITS AND SERVICES 

14 AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES. 

15 The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 

16 Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) is further amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 12. RIGHTS AND REMEDIES NOT SUBJECT TO WAIV19 ER. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The rights and remedies pro21 vided under this Act (including the right to file or partici22 pate in a class action under rule 23 of the Federal Rules 

23 of Civil Procedure in Federal court) are substantive and 

24 may not be waived, deferred, or lost pursuant to any 

25 agreement or settlement other than an agreement or set26 tlement described in subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENT OR SETTLEMENT.—An agreement 

2 or settlement referred to in subsection (a) is an agreement 

3 or settlement negotiated by— 

4 ‘‘(1) a private attorney on behalf of affected 

5 employees; or 

6 ‘‘(2) a designated representative of affected em7 ployees under the National Labor Relations Act (29 

8 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the Railway Labor Act (45 

9 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

10 ‘‘SEC. 13. INFORMATION REGARDING BENEFITS AND SERV11 ICES AVAILABLE TO WORKERS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

13 maintain a guide of benefits and services that may be 

14 available to affected employees, including unemployment 

15 compensation, trade adjustment assistance, COBRA con16 tinuation coverage, and early access to training services 

17 and other services, including counseling services, available 

18 under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

19 Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF GUIDE.—The guide main21 tained under subsection (a) shall be available on the inter22 net website of the Department of Labor and shall include 

23 a description of the benefits and services, the eligibility 

24 requirements, and the means of obtaining such benefits 

25 and services. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TRANSMISSION TO EMPLOYERS.—Upon receiv2 ing notice from an employer under section 3(a)(2), the 

3 Secretary shall immediately transmit such guide to such 

4 employer.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

6 (a) WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTI7 FICATION ACT.—The Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

8 Notification Act is amended— 

9 (1) in the table of contents in section 1(b) (29 

10 U.S.C. 2101 note)— 

11 (A) by striking the item relating to section 

12 3 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 3. Notice required before site closings and mass layoffs.’’; 

13 (B) by striking the item relating to section 

14 11 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 11. Posting of notices.’’; 

15 and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12. Rights and remedies not subject to waiver. 

‘‘Sec. 13. Information regarding benefits and services available to workers.’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) in section 7 (29 U.S.C. 2106), by striking 

19 ‘‘plant’’ and inserting ‘‘site’’. 

20 (b) OTHER LAWS.—Section 3110(a)(5) of the USEC 

21 Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h–8(a)(5)) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘2101(a) (2) and (3) of title 29, United States 


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1 Code’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 

2 2(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifica3 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)), as in effect on the day be4 fore the date of enactment of the Fair Warning Act of 

5 2023’’. 

Æ 


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