I was told by a friend that there are laws that basically a company has to be careful how they do lay offs because there's rules as to what sort of packages the leaving employees are given. Such as in my case, I was laid off, I was told it was for business reasons and then 2.5 months later they did a bigger lay off, laying off maybe 20-40 people ... I got 2 weeks severance and all these other people got 2 months severance. My manager told me when I was laid off (he didn't know i was getting laid off until it had happened) that he was pretty sure they were planning to move the company to malaysia and texas (since they have hubs there already and both places are much cheaper to maintain) which this bigger lay off supported since the people not laid off were given relocation offers.

Anyway, he said that if lay offs are too close together or whatever and the benefits given are different that it is illegal if it's deemed that both lay offs were for the same reason as it'd be seen as one lay off. The company seemed to lay at least one person off on a regular basis (for awhile it was every tuesday, it was creepy... someone would just disappear).

I don't know if this law is true ... I felt like I got jipped completely because 2 weeks severance with no warning is nothing ... (i got denied unemployment, i went through the hearing and got approved finally but it's been almost 3 months with no income) and some of the people they laid off did not work at the company as long as I had ... nor worked the hours that I had. When I was working there I did not get some of the spiffs some of the other employees who had not worked as much as me had gotten (this largely due to the fact that the managers only noted who was working on the project at the end, not who started it, which was more work).

Anyway ... any information would be helpful. Thank you.

I am not an attorney but I will give it a shot. I think your company is laying off people slowly for a reason.

WARN act states that an employer must give 60 days notice if a plant is closing or mass lay-offs.

On January 1, 2003, California specific Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) requirements (Assembly Bill 2957, Chapter 4, Part 4, Sections 1400-1408, California Labor Code) became law. These Labor Code provisions expand upon requirements in the federal WARN legislation that was effective February 4, 1989.

WARN provides protection to employees, their families, and communities by requiring employers to give affected employees and other state and local representatives notice 60 days in advance of a plant closing or mass layoff. Advance notice provides employees and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain alternative jobs and, if necessary, to enter skills training or retraining that will allow these employees to successfully compete in the job market.
Federal WARN Provisions California WARN Provisions
(Assembly Bill 2957, Koretz)
Covered Employers
Applicable only to employers with 100 or more full-time employees who must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted. (29 USC 2101 and 29 CFR 639.3) Applicable to a "covered establishment" with 75 or more employees full or part-time. As under the federal WARN, employees must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted. [California Labor Code Section 1400 (a) and (h)]
Plant Closing or Layoff Requiring Notice
Plant closings involving 50 or more employees during a 30-day period. Layoffs within a 30-day period involving 50 to 499 full-time employees constituting at least 33% of the full-time workforce at a single site of employment. Layoffs of 500 of more are covered regardless of percentage of workforce. (29 USC, et seq., 2101 and 29 CFR 639.3) Plant closing, layoff or relocation of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period regardless of percentage of work force. Relocation is defined as a move to a different location more than 100 miles away. [California Labor Code Section 1400 (c)and (d)]
Legal Jurisdiction
Enforcement of WARN requirements through United States district courts. The court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs. (29 USC 2101, et seq) Suit may be brought in "any court of competent jurisdiction". The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees as part of costs to any prevailing plaintiff. The California WARN law is in the Labor Code and the authority to investigate through the examination of books and records is delegated to the Labor Commissioner. (California Labor Code Sections 1404 and 1406)
Employer Liability
An employer who violates the WARN provisions is liable to each employee for an amount equal to back pay and benefits for the period of the violation, up to 60 days, but no more than half the number of days the employee was employed by the employer. [29 USC; 2104 (a)]. A possible civil penalty of $500 a day for each day of violation. Employees may receive back pay to be paid at employee’s final rate or 3 year average rate of compensation, whichever is higher. In addition, employer is liable for cost of any medical expenses incurred by employees that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. The employer is liable for period of violation up to 60 days or one-half the number of days the employee was employed whichever period is smaller. (California Labor Code Section 1403)
Notice Requirements
An Employer must provide written notice 60-days prior to a plant closing or mass layoff to employees or their representative, the State dislocated worker unit (the Employment Development Department, Workforce Investment Division in California), and the chief elected official of local government within which such closing or layoff is to occur. (29 USC, 2102; 29 CFR 639.5) An employer must give notice 60-days prior to a plant closing, layoff or relocation. In addition to the notifications required under federal WARN, notice must also be given to the Local Workforce Investment Board, and the chief elected official of each city and county government within which the termination, relocation or mass layoff occurs. (California Labor Code Section 1401)
Exceptions and Exemptions to Notice Requirements
Regular Federal, State, local and federally recognized Indian tribal governments are not covered.
(29 USC, 2102 (a); 29 CFR 639.3)

The following situations are exempt from notice:

There is an offer to transfer employee to a different site within a reasonable commuting distance.
(29 USC, 2101 (b) (2); 29 CFR 639.5)

The closure is due to unforeseeable business circumstances, a natural disaster.
(29 USC, 2103; 29 CFR 639.9)

The closing or layoff constitutes a strike or constitutes a lockout not intended to evade the requirement of this chapter.
[29 USC, 2103 (2)] California WARN does not apply when the closing or layoff is the result of the completion of a particular project or undertaking of an employer subject to Wage Orders 11, 12 or 16, regulating the Motion Picture Industry, or Construction, Drilling, Logging and Mining Industries, and the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of that project or undertaking.
[California Labor Code Section 1400 (g)]

The notice requirements do not apply to employees involved in seasonal employment where the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was seasonal and temporary.
[California Labor Code Section 1400 (g)(2)]

Notice is not required if a mass layoff, relocation or plant closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war.
[California Labor Code Section 1401 (c)]

Notice of a relocation or termination is not required where, under multiple and specific conditions, the employer submits documents to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the DIR determines that the employer was actively seeking capital or business, and a WARN notice would have precluded the employer from obtaining the capital or business. (California Labor Code Section 1402.5) This exception does not apply to notice of a mass layoff as defined in California Labor Code Section 1400 (d).
[California Labor Code Section 1402.5 (d)]

Oh my finger hurt why am I doing this? :mad:

How Do I File a WARN Notice?
To notify employees, any reasonable method of delivery designed to ensure receipt of notice at least 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff is acceptable (e.g., first class mail, personal delivery with optional signed receipt). In the case of notification directly to affected employees, insertion of notice into pay envelopes is another viable option; however, a ticketed or preprinted notice regularly included in each employee's paycheck or pay envelope does not meet the requirements.

The LWIA listing by county will assist in locating information about how to contact the chief elected officials in the communities affected by the planned layoff or closure. Select the Web site listed below the specific county.

Notice to the State of California Employment Development Department should be addressed to:

WARN Act Coordinator
System Support Section
Workforce Investment Division
Employment Development Department
P.O. Box 826880, MIC 69
Sacramento, CA 94280-0001