‘‘(A) as of the date that notice would have 
been required the employer had been offered, on 
acceptable terms, new business or financing in 
an amount which, if obtained, would have en-
abled the employer to avoid the site closing; and 
‘‘(B) the employer can demonstrate that, 
had notice been given, the notice would have 
precluded the new business or financing. 
‘‘(2) UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.— 
‘‘(A) NATURAL
DISASTERS.—No notice 
under this Act shall be required if the site clos-
ing or mass layoff is due to any form of natural 
disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, or a 
drought ravaging the farmlands of the United 
States. 
‘‘(B) TERRORIST
ATTACKS.—No notice 
under this Act shall be required if the site clos-
ing or mass layoff is due directly to a terrorist 
attack that affects the operation of the site. 
‘‘(3) PROVISION OF NOTICE.—An employer re-
lying on this subsection shall give as much notice as 
is practicable and at that time shall give a brief 
statement of the basis for reducing the notification 
period. 
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‘‘(d) EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY LAYOFF.—A tem-
porary layoff of more than 3 months that, at its outset, 
was announced to be a temporary layoff of 3 months or 
less, shall be treated as an employment loss under this 
Act unless— 
‘‘(1) a written notice, as required under sub-
section (a), is provided at the commencement of the 
temporary layoff stating the date on which the em-
ployer expects to recall the employees to work, and 
such date is less than 3 months after the date of the 
layoff; and 
‘‘(2) notice is given to all parties described in 
subsection (a) at the time it becomes reasonable to 
contemplate that the temporary layoff will be ex-
tended beyond the 90-day period. 
‘‘(e) DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO EMPLOY-
MENT LOSS.— 
‘‘(1) MULTIPLE GROUPS.—For purposes of this 
section, in determining whether a site closing or 
mass layoff at a single site of employment has oc-
curred or will occur, employment losses for 2 or 
more groups at the single site of employment, each 
of which is less than the minimum number of em-
ployees specified in paragraph (4) or (7) of section 
2(a) but which in the aggregate exceed that min-
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imum number, and which occur within any 90-day 
period, shall be considered to be a site closing or 
mass layoff unless the employer demonstrates that 
the employment losses are the result of separate and 
distinct actions and causes and are not an attempt 
by the employer to evade the requirements of this 
Act. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF BUSINESS SALES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a sale 
of part or all of an employer’s business, the 
seller shall be responsible for providing notice 
for any site closing or mass layoff in accordance 
with this section up to and including the effec-
tive date of the sale. After the effective date of 
the sale of part or all of an employer’s business, 
the purchaser shall be responsible for providing 
notice for any site closing or mass layoff in ac-
cordance with this section. 
‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEES.—In the 
case of a sale of part or all of an employer’s 
business, and notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of this Act, any person who is an employee 
of the seller as of the effective date of the sale 
shall be considered an employee of the pur-
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chaser immediately after the effective date of 
the sale. 
‘‘(f) CONTENT OF NOTICES.—An employer who is re-
quired to provide notice as required under subsection (a) 
shall include— 
‘‘(1) in each notice required under such sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) a statement of the number of affected 
employees; 
‘‘(B) the reason for the site closing or 
mass layoff; 
‘‘(C) whether the layoff is permanent or 
temporary and, if temporary, the date on which 
the employer expects to recall the affected em-
ployees to work; 
‘‘(D) the availability of employment at 
other establishments owned by the employer; 
‘‘(E) a statement of each employee’s rights 
with respect to wages and severance and em-
ployee benefits; and 
‘‘(F) a statement of the available employ-
ment and training services provided by the De-
partment of Labor; and 
‘‘(2) in each notice required under such sub-
section (except for paragraph (1)(B) of such sub-
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section), the names, addresses, and occupations of 
the affected employees. 
‘‘(g) INFORMATION
REGARDING
BENEFITS
AND 
SERVICES AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES.—Concurrent with 
or immediately after providing the notice required under 
subsection (a)(1), an employer shall provide affected em-
ployees with information regarding the benefits and serv-
ices available to such employees, as described in the guide 
compiled by the Secretary under section 13. 
‘‘(h) ACCESS OF RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS.—An em-
ployer who is required to provide notice under subsection 
(a) shall permit, during work hours, reasonable on-site ac-
cess to any Federal, State, or local rapid response team 
under section 134(a)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(2)(A)) respon-
sible for providing reemployment, training services, and 
related services to affected employees. 
‘‘(i) DOL NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—As soon as prac-
ticable and not later than 15 days after receiving notice 
under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary of Labor shall no-
tify the appropriate Senators and Members of the House 
of Representatives who represent the area or areas where 
the site closing or mass layoff is to occur.’’. 
(b) WIOA AMENDMENT REGARDING THE PROVISION 
INFORMATION
THROUGH
LOCAL
EMPLOYMENT
AND 
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TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa) 
of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3174(c)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(aa)) is amended by inserting 
before the semicolon the following: ‘‘ and of information 
in notices described in section 3(a), and of access to the 
database established under section 5(e), of the Worker Ad-
justment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 
2102(a); 2104(e))’’. 
SEC. 3. EXEMPTIONS. 
Section 4 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2103) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘SEC. 4. EXEMPTIONS. 
‘‘This Act shall not apply to a plant closing or mass 
layoff if the closing is of a temporary facility or the closing 
or layoff is the result of the completion of a particular 
project or undertaking, and the affected employees were 
hired with the understanding that their employment was 
limited to the duration of the facility or the project or un-
dertaking.’’. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
Section 5 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
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(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c); 
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—An action shall be brought 
under this section not later than 4 years after the date 
of the last event constituting the alleged violation for 
which the action is brought.’’; 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) EXEMPTION FROM LIQUIDATED DAMAGES.— 
Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1)(C), an employer is not 
liable for the liquidated damages described in such sub-
section if— 
‘‘(1) the employee alleges a site closing and— 
‘‘(A) the employer can establish that cir-
cumstances described in section 3(c)(1) existed 
on the 60th and 30th days before the site clos-
ing; or 
‘‘(B) the site closing is due to any form of 
natural disaster or directly due to a terrorist at-
tack; or 
‘‘(2) the alleged site closing or mass layoff is 
caused by business circumstances (other than a fin-
ancier’s decision) that were not contemplated nor 
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should reasonably have been contemplated as of the 
30th day before the site closing or mass layoff. 
‘‘(e) DATABASE.— 
‘‘(1) TRANSMITTALS.—A State or designated 
entity that receives a notice under section 3(a) shall 
transmit a copy of the notice to the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) DATABASE.—The Secretary shall create 
and maintain a publicly available database that pro-
vides information from notices transmitted under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF DATABASE.—The database 
under paragraph (2) shall include— 
‘‘(A) for each notice transmitted under 
paragraph (1), a copy of the notice, the date of 
the notice, the name of the employer involved, 
the unit of local government affected by the 
closing or layoff involved, the number of em-
ployees so affected, the sector in which the lay-
off occurred (as identified by the North Amer-
ican Industry Classification System code), and 
the type of the closing or layoff; 
‘‘(B) a search function that allows users to 
identify the geographic, annual, and sectoral 
breakdown of the notices; and 
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‘‘(C) a function that allows the data to be 
downloaded in a user-friendly format. 
‘‘(4) ACCESS
THROUGH
WEBSITE.—The Sec-
retary shall provide a link to the database through 
the internet website of the Department of Labor.’’. 
SEC. 5. POSTING OF NOTICES. 
Section 11 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 note) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 11. POSTING OF NOTICES. 
‘‘(a) POSTING OF NOTICES.—Each employer shall 
post and keep posted, in conspicuous places upon its prem-
ises where notices to employees are customarily posted, a 
notice to be prepared or approved by the Secretary setting 
forth excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provi-
sions of this Act and information pertinent to the filing 
of a complaint under this Act. 
‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—The Secretary may impose a civil 
penalty on any person who willfully violates this section 
of not more than $500 for each separate offense.’’. 
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SEC. 6. NON-WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES; INFORMA-
TION REGARDING BENEFITS AND SERVICES 
AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES. 
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 
Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 12. RIGHTS AND REMEDIES NOT SUBJECT TO WAIV-
ER. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The rights and remedies pro-
vided under this Act (including the right to file or partici-
pate in a class action under rule 23 of the Federal Rules 
of Civil Procedure in Federal court) are substantive and 
may not be waived, deferred, or lost pursuant to any 
agreement or settlement other than an agreement or set-
tlement described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) AGREEMENT OR SETTLEMENT.—An agreement 
or settlement referred to in subsection (a) is an agreement 
or settlement negotiated by— 
‘‘(1) a private attorney on behalf of affected 
employees; or 
‘‘(2) a designated representative of affected em-
ployees under the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the Railway Labor Act (45 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 
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‘‘SEC. 13. INFORMATION REGARDING BENEFITS AND SERV-
ICES AVAILABLE TO WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 
maintain a guide of benefits and services that may be 
available to affected employees, including unemployment 
compensation, trade adjustment assistance, COBRA con-
tinuation coverage, and early access to training services 
and other services, including counseling services, available 
under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.). 
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY
OF GUIDE.—The guide main-
tained under subsection (a) shall be available on the inter-
net website of the Department of Labor and shall include 
a description of the benefits and services, the eligibility 
requirements, and the means of obtaining such benefits 
and services. 
‘‘(c) TRANSMISSION TO EMPLOYERS.—Upon receiv-
ing notice from an employer under section 3(a)(2), the 
Secretary shall immediately transmit such guide to such 
employer.’’. 
Æ 
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